Everyday Lives: Natsu and Lucy
by smile-lifegoeson
Summary: AU Drabbles. Games, movies, dungeons and more. one-shots from Everyday Lives featuring Natsu and Lucy. After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I think it'll be easier to find certain chapters this way. I hope you don't mind
1. Pink Flash

After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I think it'll be easier to find certain chapters this way. I hope you don't mind :)

 _Fairy Tail_ and it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

 **Summary:** Lucy moves to a new town for a job and goes to the same coffee shop every morning where someone behind the scenes gives her a free drink everyday?

* * *

It was a bright and sunny morning in the beautiful city of Magnolia, where Lucy has just moved to to begin anew. Her best friend Levy McGarden is the head honcho for e Sorcerer Magazine and she offered the newly opened editor-in-chief position to her this past week, so Lucy had to make a huge move in life for this once in a lifetime oppritunity.

"I can't wait! This is going to be awesome! Not only do I get see Levy all the time but I'll get to meet some amazing people! The center fold model Mirajane, the number photographer Erza, and I'll finally meet this mystery man in Levy's life, who apparently works there too." Lucy was getting herself more excited as she got dressed on her first day.

"Hm, let's see. First day I need to make a good impression," going through her over-sized closet to find the the perfect outfit, "AH! Perfect! It screams smart, sophisticated, and sexy."

Once dressed and ready to go, she saw that she had quite a while until she had to be there, which was perfect for Lucy. She loved being early.

As she stepped out the door of her new home, she saw a cute coffee shop across the street that didn't look to crowded. The name was "Happy Morning", and it had a blue cat one the sign. Seeing as she was ahead of schedule she decided to stop and get something.

As she walked in she could smell the amazing scent of coffee and fresh bread and all kinds of yummy breakfast food. It looked like a homey place, it didn't have blaring music like most places, and it even had a few sitting areas with living room chairs. A perfect place to read or just sit after a long day.

"Oh excuse me!" a little girl with long blue hair almost bumped into her since she hadn't moved from the door, she had on a high school uniform and was carrying a large bag.

"Oh no I'm sorry I'm in the way!" Lucy smiled at the girl who smiled back and then ran behind the counter. Lucy stared after her, a parent or sibling must work here, then a few seconds later she saw the girl run back out, "By big brother! I'll be back later!"

She saw a white cat and then a blue one ,it matched the cat on the sign outside, sit beside the girls feet, the blue one looked identical to the one on the sign. Then she heard a voice from a back room, "Be careful Wendy! And stay away from Romeo!"

The girl, Wendy, sighed at the voice. She knelt down to rub both cats on the head and then rushed out the door, giving Lucy a smile.

Lucy looked at her watch and saw she still had some time so she walked up to the counter to look at the menu. She wasn't a fan of the fancy drinks. Just some regular coffee was good for her.

"Hi, what can I get for you?" Lucy looked up to see a very handsome young man standing behind the register, she glanced at his name tag.

"Why yes, Hibiki, I'll have a regular please. With extra milk and sugar too. And a strawberry muffin, to go please." She winked at the boy and reached for her wallet.

"And you're name miss?" He smiled at her as he rang up her order.

"It's Lucy."

"Alright it'll be right up." He walked over to the machines to get it started.

Lucy blinked and just stood there. She was holding onto her credit card ready to pay, most coffee places make you pay before they get it ready. Most places do actually. Maybe this was just how Magnolia was, Lucy hadn't lived here since she was in elementary school.

"Here you go Miss Lucy." Hibiki walked over to hand her her drink and muffin with a smile in his eyes.

"Thank you. How much?" She tried to hand him her card but he refused, "It's already been taken care of ma'am."

"Oh? And who may I ask payed for it." She liked to have attention based on her looks, she was beyond flattered, but she could pay for herself.

"I'm sorry m'am, but I need to tend to my next customer," he moved to help the next person in line while ignoring Lucy.

"Hey!" she watched as he went about his business and shrugged, "oh well, I don't have time for this."

She walked out of the shop, almost stepping on the blue cat, when she saw a flash out of the corner of her eye and shrugged again, probably a waitress or something, all she saw was pink.

* * *

"Lu! I'm so glad you're here!" immediately upon walking in the door she was embraced by her best friend she hadn't seen in a long time.

"It's so good to see you Levy!" Lucy tried hard not to spill her coffee on her friend.

"I'm so happy I was able to get you here, I've been waiting for something to become available for about a year now." Levy was showing Lucy the main office area, and introducing her to many new faces.

"Mira is on vacation this week with her husband, so you'll meet her later on," Levy laughed at her friends sad expression, "Erza should be back tomorrow, she and her partner went to Oak Town to see what they could find out about Jose Porla's failing business. They're our top team around here."

"I can't wait to meet them! But now, who is this guy you keep avoid telling me about, hm?" Levy doesn't like to date, her job being her top priority, but there was something about this guy that she was crazy about, or at least that's what Lucy suspected.

"Nothing is going on! We're friends! He's a reporter here! He likes to talk about the stories he wants to take on and he wants my opinions on it! So what if we go to dinner every now and then, it's nice to have a new environment every now and then!" By her rambling, Lucy knew she liked him.

"Uh huh, sure Levy. Just let me know who he is so I can give him a good talking to about hurting my best friend."

"Lu!"

* * *

Her first day was a total success. Today would be great, she gets to meet Erza Fernandes! Erza got the job as a photographer right out of college, an amazing achievement. Her husband, Jellal, also works at the company, as an undercover agent about the more serious topics going around.

Lucy decided to go back to Happy Morning to get another coffee, and to pay for the one from yesterday too.

"Good morning, miss! How can I help you?" This time there was a younger looking man who's name was Eve.

"Morning, I want a regular coffee with milk and sugar with a strawberry muffin. And also, I need to pay for the ones I got yesterday. My name's Lucy," She said before he could ask.

"Coming right up!" Again, the man behind the counter walked away before she could hand him her card. So she waited and held out her arm out when he walked back over.

"Here you go miss! And don't worry, it's all been payed for!" He placed her cup and muffin down and walked away.

"Are you serious?" Lucy stood there for a second when she felt something furry rub her legs. She looked down to see the blue cat again. She smiled and knelt down to pet him, no matter how angry the men here made her, a cute kitty was a cute kitty, how can you be mad around them?

"You are pretty cute," She rubbed the cats belly when he rolled over and when she stood back up she saw the pink flash again. She was going to have to come by one day and wait awhile to see what that was, it made her curious.

 _"I'll come back tomorrow and pay for it. Hopefully."_ She walked out, not noticing the blue cat walk up to the 'pink flash' to be picked up.

* * *

"I would like to introduce you to Erza Fernandes and Gajeel Redfox. Our number one scoop team at Sorcerer!" Lucy shook hands with both of them and was pleased to know that Erza was actually allot nicer than some of the other employees said about her yesterday. And she had read many of the articles done by Gajeel, who in his articles just called himself 'Black Steel'. He was rough around the edges, especially with the piercings, but Lucy made a mental note to ask Levy about him. Especially since when she walked in he looked like her recognized her and had a big grin on his face.

"This is Lucy Heartfillia, out new editor-in-chief." Levy finished her introductions and was about to walk back to her office when she turned around, "Gajeel I think I have some papers for you look over before I hand them to Lucy in my office. Can you come get them?"

"Sure shrimp." Gajeel left the room with Levy in a light hurry. She turned back to Erza who was sitting in one of the lounge chairs and was about to ask, got beat to the punch.

"That's him." At Lucy's confused look she continued, "I've overheard some phone calls you and Levy have had the last few weeks and I know shes let it slip that she's seeing someone. It's Gajeel. Its been going on for almost a year now."

"A YEAR?!" Lucy and Erza bonded quite well over the romances going on in the office for the next few hours.

* * *

 _"Ok. Day three's a charm. It has to be Hibiki. There isn't anyone else who it could be. Eve wasn't there the first day, and I didn't see any of the same people sitting down either day. It has to be him"_ These were Lucy's thoughts as she entered the coffee shop Thursday morning. Once again, there was a new man behind the counter.

"What do you want?" This ones name was Ren, he seemed kinda distant.

"A regular coffee, milk and sugar, with a strawberry muffin please. And I need to pay for today's, plus the past two days of the same order. Name's Lucy." She was more than a little pissed by the men here.

He didn't say anything as he walked away to prepare her drink. Lucy looked around the shop to keep herself occupied when she saw the blue cat sitting on someones shoulder, someone with pink hair. The persons back was facing her, she didn't know if it was a boy or girl. He/She was sitting with a man with short black hair and a woman with long blue hair. Right when she saw the person standing is when Ren gave her her order.

"It's on the house." He walked away.

"...fine." She took her things and looked over to only see the man and woman still sitting at the table, the man's shirt was undone. But the pink-haired man/woman was gone.

 _"Oh well, I'll come back later."_

* * *

Lucy was unable to go to the shop on Friday because she woke up late. And Saturday Levy had invited her shopping with her and Erza. Where she found out that Levy WAS dating Gajeel, he was just shy.

So Sunday morning when Lucy woke up, wanting nothing more than to fix herself some coffee, she decided to go and stay at the coffee shop across the street. It'd be a relaxing place to spend her morning. And maybe she'd finally get to pay. If not she had all the cash to pay for to put in the tip jar.

Lucy decided to wear a pair of shorts and a college sweatshirt today, it was getting a little chilly out with fall approaching.

She walked inside and was surprised to see Wendy behind the counter.

"Hi again!" Wendy grinned at her as she walked up, "You're Lucy right?"

"Hi, yes I am how do you know?" Lucy was still trying to figure out who was paying for her, surely it wasn't this little girl?

"The guys who work here told me. I already know what you want so why don't you have a seat?" Wendy pointed to one of the bigger lounge chairs. The place maybe had five people in it so she had her pick.

"Sure, but am I going to get to pay today?" Lucy called out to her as the girl went to fix her order and obviously didn't hear here. She sighed and walked over to the large chair. She pulled out the book she had gotten yesterday on Levy's suggestion and began reading.

She was a couple pages in when she heard someone step in front of her and place a muffin and a coffee down on the side table.

"One regular coffee, milk and sugar, with a strawberry muffin?"

She looked up and saw a man. A man with pink hair.

"Thank you," She pulled out her wallet only to hear, "It's on the house." She fumed.

"Ok, this is crazy, just who is paying for it? It's a nice gesture and all but I'm sick of it! I'm a independent woman who can pay for myself and if someone wants to pay for me the decent thing to do is grow a pair and show his face!" Lucy was panting as she looked at the mans shocked face. He looked down for a second and then turned to the side where she saw his face was flushed.

"I..I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you or anything.." He began.

 _"Wait..It was him? I've never seen him before though.."_ He sat down on the chair in front of her and looked at the floor.

"Last week I saw you moving in and thought you were really pretty. If the shop wasn't so busy I was going to go over and help you, but I never got the chance.

"My brother and sister, Wendy, are always giving me a hard time about not dating. So when my brother was here and saw me staring, he told me to go ask you out. Which I was gonna do.." Lucy smiled at him.

"So when I came in you decided to buy my drink to make it easier?" The mans face got darker at that comment.

"Well, kinda. My last and only relationship kinda made me loose faith in it. The girl cheated on me for six months of our year long relationship."

"I'm sorry.."

"Nah don't be. We were childhood friends and we thought we liked each other. She felt bad about doing it, but she didn't like me as much as she thought." He grinned, Lucy thought he must be remember her in a good way then. The man stood up and looked at her.

"I really am sorry I offended you, don't worry about the drinks though, you don't have to pay, I was just being a chicken. Have a nice day," He began to walk away as Lucy realized she wanted to know more about this guy.

"Wait!" The man turned around to look at her.

"If you're still interested, can I buy _you_ a coffee? And would you join me?" She was taking a leap of faith here. Then he laughed.

"Oh I'm interested, but you don't have to worry about buying it though." He walked behind the counter to get himself a cup. Lucy plopped down in her chair, thoroughly confused.

He came and sat in the chair across from her holding a coffee and the blue cat.

"This is Happy by the way." He put the cat down who immediately jumped in Lucy's lap. She scratched his head and made him meow, which sounded kinda like 'aye'?

"This is the shops mascot?" Lucy giggled.

"Yeah kinda. I got him for Christmas one year while I was in school from my mom. She gave me and my brother and sister one too. So when I was designing the shop Happy walked all over the blue prints, right where the name was, which was originally, Good Morning. It was his way of changing it I guess." He grinned and took a sip from his cup.

"So you own this shop?" She thought he just worked here.

"Hm? Oh yeah I do. Couple years now."

"Is that why your sister works here?" Happy had decided to take a nap in her lap by this point.

"Nah, she lives with me, our parents died a few years ago. She helps here whenever I need her too. My brother too, but he doesn't like too."

"You and your siblings seem close. What does your brother do?"

"He's a reporter at Sorcerer Magazine."

Lucy blinked once. Twice. "Huh?"

"Yeah, why is that surprising? You've probably read his stories, goes by the name 'Black Steel'?"

"You mean your brother is that guy?" Shock didn't cover it. They didn't look alike at all!

"Yeah. You know him?" He titled his head to the side.

"I work at Sorcerer Magazine too! I met him the other day. He's dating my best friend." Lucy now knew why Gajeel recognized her, he saw his brother staring at her!

"Oh Levy? She's pretty cool, comes in here sometimes. Her and Weny get along great."

"I can't believe you're his brother. You don't look like it. Him and Wendy maybe.."

"We're half siblings. Same mom. Me and Wendy have the same parents though. I can't believe he didn't tell me he met you, he came over here yesterday too and asked if I'd talked to you." He was pouting.

Lucy was happy, it turns out that the guy whose been buying her breakfast was close to the people she worked with. She had a feeling she knew who his ex was too. A junior reporter, Lisanna, who was Mira's little sister, always stared at the to-go coffee she brought in, which had a picture of Happy the cat on it, with a sad smile on her face. Levy told her she was dating a man named Bickslow since she was in high school, must have been the one she cheated on him with.

"So how about one day when you're free I take you a real date?" The pink haired man was now petting a black cat that was curled in his lap, it had a scar on it's left eye and refused to look at her. His flush was back.

Lucy stared at him, compared to the men shed dated before, he was almost perfect. He had begun this little relationship in a very romantic way and he was close to people she knew. I guess it was time for him to buy her dinner.

"I would love to, um.." Lucy stared at him as she realized she didn't even know his name.

"Oh! Haha, I guess I forgot to Introduce myself," He stood up and sat beside Lucy on the large chair and threw his arm around her,"I'm Natsu Dragneel. Guess it was kinda awkward having someone buy your breakfast and not know who."

"It's nice to finally meet you Natsu, I'm Lucy Heartfillia." She raised her eyebrow as his smile turned a little too devious.

"I hope the next time I buy you breakfast it's because I got to buy you dinner, too." He winked at her and pulled her closer to him.

Lucy laughed and leaned back into his arms to enjoy her Happy Morning.


	2. Garbage Day

After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I think it'll be easier to find certain chapters this way. I hope you don't mind :)

 _Fairy Tail_ and it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

 **Summary:** Every Thursday morning Lucy is awakened by the noisy garbage men. One day she has enough, but she doesn't count on the good looking garbage man who actually smells… nice?

* * *

It was a peaceful evening in the beautiful city of Magnolia. Young Lucy Heartfilia had already taken a relaxing bubble bath and settling down in her comfy bed for a good nights rest.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

"Ugh! Not again!"

Just outside, she could hear a noisy truck. Unmistakable, a garbage truck.

"Unbelievable!" Lucy yelled as she walked across the hall from her bedroom to the large window that overlooked the city.

There, she saw a truck had already left her house and was at her neighbors two houses down.

Lucy was livid, it was 4 o'clock in the morning. She had to be up in an hour so what was the point in going back to bed?

"I'll get them next time," she mumbled as she headed to her kitchen.

* * *

That day at work, Lucy could barely keep her eyes open. She was a teacher, and her Literature classes were so slow in their lesson plans that day. At lunch she thought about going to the lounge to sleep on the nice big lumpy couch they had.

"Did Lucy not sleep well again?" Juvia, the biology teacher and close friend of Lucy's inquired.

"No. I woke up because of that loud garbage truck again. I swear, every week it gets louder and louder."

"Would you like Juvia to ask her darling to do something about it next time?" Juvia's husband was a police officer who often worked the early morning shifts.

"No. That's OK. Thank you though, Juvia," Lucy smiled. Gray often helped their friends with little things like that.

"If you change your mind, please let Juvia know," she glanced down as her phone rang, "Oh it's Cana!"

Juvia answered and talked quickly for several minutes. And then she squealed, "Yes, yes! Put him on!"

Lucy quirked her eyebrow at her friend, even more as she began to make baby noises.

"Oh Lucy! Listen!" Juvia put the phone up to her ear, she heard giggling and gurgling.

"Baba. Ba, da.. dada-dada.." a tiny voice then spoke on the phone.

"Aww! Hey there little Storm," Gray and Juvia's 7 month old son had just started to talk. His mother was beyond happy.

"Isn't Juvia's baby the most adorable!" Juvia took the phone back and told her little boy she loved him over and over before she put her phone down,

"He definitely is. But are you sure it's a good idea to leave him with Cana? And where's Gray?" Imagining their alcohol loving friend with a baby brought on all kinds of images to her mind.

"It is only for a few hours. My love had to go run some errands today and Juvia didn't want her little Storm in this cooler weather."

Juvia then told Lucy everything that her baby did the previous evening. Including getting his rice down daddy's shirt. His stripping habit was actually helpful this time. Laughing with her friend made her mood lighten and she even forgot about the rude wake up call she got this morning, until next week that is.

* * *

The following Thursday morning, right on time, the garbage truck woke Lucy up.

"You must be joking," Lucy didn't even bother getting up, her class had run her ragged yesterday, she wasn't ready to face the world just yet.

 _BOOM!_

A loud crash was heard down the street followed by some screaming. She pulled her pillow on top of her head and groaned. Looks like she wasn't getting any extra sleep tonight either.

* * *

"That's unfortunate," The art teacher, Jellal, gave her a sympathetic smile after hearing her sob story. They each had free time during 4th period and more often then not spent that time in the lounge having coffee together.

"Yeah, I don't even know what happened after that, my neighbors took care of it probably, they don't even like it when I walk Plue. I always get yelled at," Plue was Lucy's white Shih Tzu. He was a shy little thing.

"Perhaps next time it won't be so bad, or you could call and complain. Erza has done that on many occasions about the city mowers," raising his coffee to drink to rid the image of her yelling at the people across the street. His wife could scare a bear if she wanted.

"She wouldn't have a problem with it. But I don't want to cost someone there job just because I'm losing an hour of sleep."

"I see," he glanced at his watch, "well before I forget, Erza wants to know if you would like to join us tomorrow night? We're going to Laxus' bar that just opened."

"You mean Mira's bar?" They both chuckled. Laxus was the toughest, meanest man they knew, until he started to date Mirajane that is. The bar was even called _She-Devils_. That was Mira's nick-name in middle school, high school, and college when she was on the softball and volleyball teams. Laxus says he named it after her cause he loved her, simple as that. Everyone else knew that since they were getting closer and closer to the Dryer-Strauss wedding.. well, she _was_ the she-devil..

"Yes, precisely. You are more than welcome to join us. I believe Levy and Gajeel are coming as well," Levy was the librarian here at the school and Gajeel was the welding and carpentry teacher. It was quite the pair.

"I'll think about it," She said as the bell rang and they parted ways.

 _"Maybe I should. A good night out with friends might be just what I need! Plus it's been a while since I've seen Mira. It's decided then, I'm going!"_ Lucy though and fist bumped the air as she walked to her classroom.

* * *

"Isn't this great, Lu!" Levy yelled as much as she could over the loud music as they reached the center bar.

"This is so awesome!" Looking back to the dance floor she giggled, "But I bet they're having an even better time." Levy looked at what Lucy was pointing at and the giggling began anew.

On the dance floor was Jellal and Erza. She was wearing a tiny black dress and was almost using Jellal as a pole as she wrapped her arms behind her around his neck and moving her hips to the beat of the music. Jellal had his hands on her hips holding her tight as he sucked and kissed on her neck. The way they moved together was so perfect, if not a little arousing.

"Huh, must be nice," Levy sipped on her drink as she found her boyfriend talking and laughing with Laxus across the bar and glared at him.

Lucy watched them with wistful eyes, "I wish I could meet someone as dedicated to me as Jellal is to Erza."

"Maybe you can."

Lucy jumped at the new voice and turned to see a grinning man sitting next to her.

"Oh, um.." he was looking straight at her eyes, but she couldn't help but give him a once over under her bangs. He was wearing loose but nicely fitting jeans that just barely let his boots peak out underneath. A tight black shirt was seen under the pink button-up that was completely undone with the sleeves rolled up half way. Through both shirts she was able to see well defined muscles. The strangest thing he was wearing was a white muffler tied around his waist like a second belt. A confidant grin was on his face when she finally looked at it. His hair was bring pink and spiky. It made for a _delicious_ combo.*

"See something you like?"

Lucy blushed as she snapped her eyes to his, they were a forest green. He leaned in closer so only she could hear him.

" 'Cause I know I do," he had moved his hands next to hers on the bar so he could rub her hand as he talked. He didn't seem like a player. He looked at her face the whole time. He seemed pretty genuine. Nothing like the number one players from her high school and college, Loke and Sting.

Lucy glanced over to see Levy who had joined Mira, Laxus, and Gajeel. The girls and Gajeel gave her a thumbs up and Laxus nodded to her. She glanced back over to his smiling hopeful face. She giggled.

"I'm Lucy, it's nice to meet you," his grin got wider into a boyish smile, she could his sharp canines.

"I'm Natsu. Wanna dance?"

* * *

Over the next several weeks, Natsu and Lucy began to see each other more and more, until their relationship became official 3 weeks after they met. They had now been dating for 4 weeks.

Natsu was absolutely wonderful . He was caring and considerate. On every date, he brought her flowers, all kinds of flowers. When they reached the one month mark of their relationship, he bought her a candle and a gift card to Yankee Candle to get even more. She always noticed how clean his truck and apartment were, he wasn't a neat freak, but he liked to be clean. She was in love with his cologne. The couple times he stayed at her place shes taken the bottle while he was in the shower and sprayed it on her pillows. It was _that_ good. Natsu did tend to let his boyish side get the better of him sometimes, which Lucy found adorable. He always kept her on her toes. She knew he worked for the city, but he didn't tell her what he did and she didn't pry.

It wasn't until the 6th week that they had been dating, that she found out with a..

 _BANG_!

"No! Not now!" Lucy jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs, determined to end this. It was the first time it had happened since she met Natsu. And she didn't want it to start again.

Without even grabbing her robe or slippers, she marched outside wearing a pink tank top and blue pajama pants that she bough thinking about Natsu's cat, Happy. They had little blue cats all over them.

Walking toward the truck she saw that a garbage can had fallen out of the trucks claw. A purple haired boy was picking up the trash that had fallen everywhere and another person was kicking the truck.

"Stupid piece of shit!"

All of a sudden, she got a whiff of that strong cologne she loved so much. She came to a stop when she reached the end of her sidewalk. It couldn't be..

"Miss, can I help you? I'm sorry if we woke you. Our truck is old and doesn't work properly.." This young boy looked familiar somehow..

"Yeah, it's woken me up a few times. I just wanted to know what was going on.."

"Damn piece of metal.. Luce?" Lucy turned around and saw her lovable goofy boyfriend holding a ripped garbage bag.

"Lucy! Hey, what are you doing up so early?" it didn't escape her notice that a blush appeared on his face.

"Your truck woke me up. It has been for months now," she saw his face get darker even with her limited light source.

"Oh, sorry babe, like he said, it's an old truck. I've been waiting a while for a replacement, it's just not here yet," his blush hadn't disappeared yet. He had even taken to looking at the ground rather than her face, and he was scratching the back of his head.

"Hey Romeo! Pick all this up, will ya? I'll be back in a minute!" Natsu yelled at the purple haired boy, pulling Lucy back toward the house.

"Sure, just don't take too long!"

"Romeo? Do I know him? I swear I've heard that name.." Lucy looked back at him.

"Yeah, that's Wendy's _boyfriend_ ," Natsu had an adorable little sister who had just started college. She found out quickly that he was super protective of her.

Natsu stopped when he reached her front door. He smiled at Lucy, his blush was lighter, but still there.

"Why are you blushing? And why didn't you tell me you worked down my street?"

Natsu looked down at the 'wipe your paws' floor mat she had. He scrunched up his face before he turned back to look at her.

"Cause it's embarrassing."

"Huh? How is it embarrassing? You have a good job, Hun," Never mind the fact that just a day before she met him she wanted to strangle her garbage man.

"Come on, Luce. I work with trash all day. Hell I never leave work without showering first, I don't wanna smell this shit when I get home," his boyish side came out when he pouted like he was.

"OK, fine. Good answer. But why didn't you tell me? Did you think I was going to laugh at you? "

"To be honest, I didn't think you'd agree to a second date if I told you," when Lucy just stared at him confused he continued, "Do you really wanna tell your friends and family that you're dating a _garbage man_?"

"It's a good, honest, hard working job. I still don't see what's so embarrassing about it," Natsu stared at her funny, almost like he didn't believe her.

"For real? It doesn't embarrass you?" he asked as he stepped closer to her.

"No silly. You could never embarrass me, unless you wanted to," she poked him on the nose at his pout.

"Is that why you didn't tell me? You thought I wouldn't approve?"

"Well, yeah. How many girls do you think would want to date a guy who spends most days digging in other peoples trash?"

"Natsu," she pulled him into a hug, "you are so sweet," she pulled away and kissed his cheek, "Is that why you always bring me flowers? And always like to have candles burning?"

His face turned bright scarlet, "Yeah.. you could.. say that.."

Lucy laughed. He was so full of surprises.

"Hey Natsu!" they both looked back to the street where Romeo was, "we need to get going or we'll never finish!"

"Yikes! Sorry man, I'm coming!" He grabbed Lucy's arms and held her tight as he kissed her, "Sorry we woke you. And get back inside! You're gonna get sick, weirdo!"

Lucy huffed as he started to run back to his truck, when she finally remembered!

"HEY! DON'T YOU DARE WAKE ME UP AGAIN WITH THIS STUPID TRUCK! NEXT TIME YOU DO, YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

"No prob, babe," Natsu replied hanging out the window, "If it happens again you can punish me as much as you want," He grinned as she started to yell to stop being a perv.

As the truck went down the road, she finally noticed how cold it was. Running inside she wrapped her arms around her found out that she smelled like her boyfriend. Hugging him, even while in his work uniform, he still smelled so wonderful. Maybe his job was the reason he liked things clean and that smelt good. He loved staying in Lucys bed even after they had woken up. He said that he loved whatever it was she used to wash her sheets with.

It was funny, she loved his strong cologne. And he loved the simple smell of her clean linen sheets.

* * *

 _*delicious_ combo. This is exactly the kind of man I want in my life. I want him to dress like that. I want him to have Natsu's personality. I would say I want Natsu but I want to be realistic..


	3. Gamer Chic

After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I think it'll be easier to find certain chapters this way. I hope you don't mind :)

 _Fairy Tail_ and it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

 **Summary** : Natsu is a hardcore gamer. It's his life, he gets paid to play. The only thing missing in his life is Player 2.

* * *

Natsu Dragneel, 23 years old, pro gamer. He lived, breathed, ate, and dreamed games. All kinds of games. On every system available: Xbox 360, Xbox one, wii, wii u, Play Station, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, super Nintendo, online games, PC games, Gameboy, Gameboy Advanced, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS. You name it, he's got and done it.

He originally went to college to be a game designer, but found that he enjoyed playing more. So now he gets payed to play all the new games and create walk-throughs and demos. Most people (his parents) think it's a big waste of time and for him to find something else. But he lives on his own in a nice house, brand new car, and debt free. He's pretty well off, and loves to brag about it.

But, there is one thing his love and life of gaming hasn't given him.

"You need a girlfriend, man," Natsu's best friend since childhood told him. They had lunch together every so often.

"No way, Ice breeches," he wasn't brokenhearted over it. Gray's eye twitched at the nick name.

"And why now?" Gray asked chewing vigorously on his burger, trying not to spit on his friend by accident, or purpose.

"I don't need some high-maintenance prissy little girl in my life when all she's gonna do is tell me to spend more time with her and quit gaming. I don't need that, gaming is my life," He chugged his coke quickly to get rid of the bad taste left by his past relationships.

"OK. I get it. Relationships aren't your thing. Why don't you go out and meet someone-"

"I just told you I don't want a girlfriend-"

"-so you can get laid, flame brain."

"Oh," Natsu put down the french fry he was using as a pointing device.

"I mean geez man," Gray leaned forward so he could whisper, "it's been what, almost 2 years? I couldn't do it."

"No, because you've got a personal sex kitten who'll be ready when you snap your fingers."

"Watch it, flame breath," Gray said menacingly. No one talked about his Juvia that way.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" The pretty blonde waitress placed their checks down and smiled sweetly at them, which cause Natsu's face to turn pink.

"No, but thank you," Natsu said quietly.

"Yes, actually," Gray grinned wickedly, "Would you be willing to go on a date with my friend here Miss.. Lucy?" He read her name tag and smirked as Natsu was sending him a look that could kill.

The waitress now known as Lucy blinked a few times then laughed a little, Natsu's cheeks got darker, she had a nice laugh.

"Wow, no one's ever asked me that before, I'm flattered, but I'm sorry to say that I'm taken. I'll be back in a minute."

"Well, I tried," Gray grumbled as he got out his wallet.

Natsu did the same as he watched the blonde walk away. She looked really good in the short orange dress that was her uniform. Truth be told, he always suggested this restaurant to eat because of the pretty waitress, and the awesome food too. He knew a girl like that would never want to go for a guy that plays video games for a living. So, he just imagines what it would be like. He has a pretty good imagination.

"Yeah, whatever," he hid the twinge of slight disappointment with annoyance.

"Dude, I am taking you out this weekend. We'll get Loke, go drink, and find you a nice looking girl to take home for a night."

"I don't wanna go drinking with him!"

"Loke knows almost every girl in town. Trust me, he'll be able to find a good one."

"You think Juvia will like this idea?" Natsu desperately looked for a loop hole to get him out of this horrid idea.

"She won't mind one tiny bit," lie. he was going to have to go home and beg his girlfriend to let him go.

"Yeah, surrreee."

"Ready?" Lucy returned with a bright smile.

"Yes. And I'm sorry miss, for earlier," Gray apologized as he handed her the checks.

"No problem. Really, it's beyond flattering," She avoided looking at either one of them to hide her embarrassment.

"Alright then, have a great day ma'am," Gray got up and pushed the chair in, "You can keep the change."

"Thank you," the bright smile she gave Gray made Natsu a little upset, not once had he ever come to this place and got her to smile like that.

"Have a good day, and come back!" Lucy had turned to him now as he got up.

"Oh, yeah, you too! Um.." he felt awkward, he wanted to say something to her to get that response like Gray did, but.. it would be easier if he just walked away, no need to get his hopes up, she was happily taken too, "I'll see you around."

He met Gray, who was texting Loke about this weekend, at the door. He turned back and saw that she had moved behind the counter and was talking to a girl with long pink hair, she was standing at the cash register. She looked excited, he noticed she was holding up a jar that said 'Lucy's Tips', maybe there was something she really wanted to buy? Probably clothes or something girly. She was cute. Too cute for him. Oh well, he didn't want to dwell on it.

"Alright," Gray closed his phone, "all set for Friday night. You better be ready. Loke is already looking for a girl to hook you up with," he smirked as they started to walk back to Natsu's place.

"I don't know man, I don't wanna be the kind of guy who has a one-night-stand."

"You don't want a girlfriend and you don't want a one-night-stand. I don't see how we're getting you laid then."

"Who said I wanted to get laid?" Not that he was going to complain.

"Don't make me laugh dude. You haven't had a good lay in almost 2 years, that hand of yours must get boring," he stared to pat Natsu on the back as he choked on air.

"Seriously? Is that all you think about?"

"No. But my girlfriend has been living with me almost that long, going a couple days is hard for us. I can't imagine going back to being single."

"Geez," Natsu walked up to his front door, not wanting to continue this conversation any longer.

"I know you spend a lot of your time on these games and editing videos and such, but come one man," Gray kept talking as he sat on Natsu's couch. Natsu lived in a very nice house. You wouldn't be able to tell he was a gamer by the decorations, thanks to his mom and sister. He transformed the two guest rooms into one giant room that he has all his games and systems in.

"What are you saying?" Natsu asked as he sat across from him in his recliner.

"I'm not saying you need to quit gaming, if I was that good i'd be doing it too! But maybe a little feminine touch in your life wouldn't hurt. A lot of the times when I play Juvia watches and even sometimes she plays with me, it's fun doing it together."

"Well yeah, I'd like that too. And I don't spend all day working while I play, I've got my favorites too. But I just don't want to change my whole life just to get a little action."

"You wouldn't have to," He grinned, "just at night you might lose some sleep. And you don't play on weekends anymore do you?"

"No," He used to play everyday, but then he got an earful from his mom about not even doing his laundry or dishes or clean house.. so now on weekends he doesn't play and relaxes as he cleans.

"So there's at least two days where you could focus on her."

"When did this become a talk about me having a girlfriend again?"

"Don't know," Gray looked at his watch, "I gotta go man, Juvia wants to go look at new tables for the kitchen."

"Have fun with that," Natsu laughed, "I don't think I'll ever make it to that point with a girl."

"Hey, if you love her enough you will. Remember how much I hated shopping with Ur? Well, I hate it now too, but with Juvia it's different, knowing I'm doing something to make her happy makes it more bearable," he got up, knocked Natsu on the head and left.

Natsu did remember how much Gray complained when his step-mom took him shopping. He hates crowds so that didn't help. He was the same way when his mother took him shopping, would it really be worth it to have a girlfriend? He went upstairs to his game/work room and sat in one of the many gamer chairs he had. If he had a girlfriend right now she'd be bugging him to take her somewhere. So no, it's not worth it. He'd be alone forever. He could be the crazy cat man. He already had one cat, he could get more.

He got up again to look at the impressive shelves he had full of games, divided by console. Choosing one he hadn't played in a while, he got started. All thoughts of a girlfriend leaving his thoughts.

* * *

Friday night came before Natsu could blink. He had completely forgotten about Gray's plan when there was pounding on his front door. He frowned, just having finished a major walk through demo of a new game, he wanted to eat, watch a little TV, and go to bed. He opened the door, and tried to close it before they came inside.

"What are you doing in sweat pants?!" Gray pushed the door open as wide as it would go, following Natsu inside with Loke behind him.

"I was going to eat and go to bed, jerk."

"Natsu, it's Friday night and it's only," Loke looked at the time on his watch, "9:45. Too early for us young men to sleep."

"I've been working all day, my eyes are burning and i just want to sleep," Natsu felt like a kid.

"Well I told you to be ready, we're going out so we can find you a girl. What sounds better, watching TV and sleeping alone tonight or getting a hot girl in your bed?" Natsu was going to reply by his honest answer but Gray cut him off, "don't answer that, you're wrong. Now go change so we can go. We'll go to She-Devils so you can eat."

"Sure thing, MOM!" Natsu slowly went up the stairs grumbling to himself.

"Man, all the trouble we're going through for him and he acts like this," Loke said loud enough so Natsu would hear and shook his head.

"What do you mean? You not looking for a girl tonight too?"

"Nope. Actually, I'm off the market," Loke grinned widely.

"What?! You're serious?" Gray grabbed onto the wall so he wouldn't fall from his shock.

"That's right my friend!"

"I know so many women who's hearts are broken right now."

"From what?" Natsu asked as he adjusted his scarf.

"Loke here has got himself a girlfriend."

"Woah, really? Who is it?" Natsu wasn't as shocked as Gray, he was more disappointed in himself. The infamous player got a girl before he did?

"Her name is Aries. She's cute as button, so shy and innocent," Loke began to daydream about her right there.

"Wait, is this the girl who owns the boutique near my house?" Gray asked.

"You mean the girl he's been chasing for years?" Natsu added.

"Yes and yes. She finally agreed to go on out with me a couple months ago. It's been great ever since!"

"Months?" the shock Gray felt kept rising, "How come you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't want to jinx it. But two weeks ago I stayed at her place overnight for the first time, so I figured it was OK to tell people now," His grin was still plastered on his face.

"The world is a better place now that you have a girlfriend. Erza will be proud," Gray gave Loke a thumbs up, but Natsu still felt down. Loke had been chasing Aries since they met at the beginning of college, and she finally agreed to date the player? If he could find someone to accept him, why couldn't Natsu?

"So why are you guys going out? If you have a girlfriend, wouldn't you rather be with her than me?" Natsu pleaded.

"Juvia has to work a late shift at the hospital tonight."

"Aries has inventory soon, so she's at her store working late."

There went that plan.

"Besides, we want you to be happy too man," Loke put his arm around Natsu and pulled him outside. Gray locked the door behind them.

"Let's go, then. I'm driving," Gray grinned and helped pull Natsu to his car.

"If I have a terrible time, I'm killing both of you," he grumbled as he got in the backseat.

"You won't, scouts honor!" Loke gave him a mock salute. Gray laughed as Natsu stuck his tongue out at them and drove off.

Once they arrived at She-Devils, Natsu made a bee line for a booth. It's easier to avoid people if you sit at a table, away from the bar.

"Nice seats man, planning on finding a girl at grannies night?" Loke said as he looked at all the elderly women they were sitting near.

"I thought you were looking _for_ me," Natsu was already looking at the menu.

"It's only 10, you can eat now, but later on we have to move to the dance floor and find a pretty lady for you take home," Gray responded.

"Hey boys, what can I get ya?" Mirajane, the owner of the bar and a school mate of them all, came and asked.

"Hey Mira, three beers please? Whatever is on tap," Loke winked at her, but he saw a tall man with blonde hair at the bar, best keep it innocent.

"Sure, and congrats Loke. I heard about you and Aries! So adorable!"

"Oh, well thank you, I'm happy," Loke said bashfully.

"So what's the special occasion? Natsu never comes by this late," She poked Natsu on the shoulder only be ignored since his eyes were on the menu.

"Well," Gray turned to give her his full attention, "we could use you're help. We're trying to find a girl that Natsu can take home for the evening."

She pouted, "So not a girlfriend?"

"He doesn't want a girlfriend," Loke sighed.

"Natsu," she used her demon voice to get his attention, which she did, "you need to find yourself a nice girl and settle down. Gajeel is engaged and Wendy has a nice boyfriend. Why don't you want to have a girlfriend?"

"Why does it matter what they have? And how did you know he was engaged?" Mira giggled at him.

"Your parents come here a lot for dinner, they told me. Your mom really wants you to settle down with a pretty girl!" Mira, Gray, and Loke all laughed when he slammed his head on the table.

"Meddlesome mother.."

"She's just worried about you is all, anyway, I'll see what I can do guys! Be right back!"

"Come on, just relax and have a good time tonight. We'll find you a nice girl to take home, you can have a good night with her, and we'll leave you alone about it," Loke commented as he stopped laughing.

"For a while anyway," Gray glanced at the menu Natsu wasn't looking at.

"Fine. Whatever, just let me eat in peace," He glanced over and saw Mira coming back to them. He looked farther back to the dance floor and saw a lot of people, a bunch of women, a bunch of pretty women too. Who knew, maybe he _would_ get lucky tonight.

* * *

After a good bit of alcohol had entered his system, Natsu was ready to meet some pretty ladies. He sat with Gray at the bar as Loke looked around, searching for the 'perfect' girl. Before he was back though, Natsu had had enough liquid courage to start dancing. It was easy enough to find a dance partner. Just because he played video games for a living didn't mean he was out of shape, he had a personal gym in his house that he went to every day. He was by no means a slob or couch potato.

He didn't see Gray or Loke for a good while, and had had a number of dance partners. Then he saw a pretty blonde near the edge of the floor. His vision was just blurry enough so that he knew when he woke up tomorrow he wouldn't remember what she looked like, but right now she looked like the pretty waitress that turned him down, or Gray down for him, the other day.

He walked over to her, held out his hand, silently asking her to dance. He knew it wasn't her, because if he remembered correctly she was taken. But this girl took his hand and led him to the middle of the floor. They danced together for a while, he didn't even know he could dance this good. The girl put her arms around his neck, bringing his face closer to her ear. He must of said something like going home with him, he couldn't control himself while drunk, cause she leaned closer and kissed him. That was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

Natsu woke up to a splitting headache the next morning. He pushed his face closer to the pillow, attempting to block out what sunlight he could see. He tried to piece together his night. He went out with Gray and Loke, ate a good steak, had a couple beers, danced.. but how did he get home?

He jumped out of bed, ignoring his headache for a second. He looked down, he was naked. He looked around and found his boxers on the floor. He hastily put them on. He kept looking around, he saw all his clothes around in random places, then he saw it. A pretty, short, blue dress. A pair of sparkly heels were beside it.

"Oh God..." he ran to the bathroom where his steak made a reappearance.

Washing out his mouth, he remembered dancing with the blonde girl, he couldn't recall her face. Did she come home with him? And if her dress was still here.. was she?

His eyes grew wide as he took some medicine for his head and ran downstairs and looked everywhere. She wasn't in the living room, kitchen, bathroom, gym, or back porch. That only left one option..

He stood in front of his game room, a little afraid of what he was about to find. He slowly opened the door.. she wasn't in his direct line of sight. He walked inside, he could hear one of the TV's on, it was on low volume, but it was on. He turned to his left and saw her. Her back was turned to him, her long blonde hair was in a messy bun, and it looked like she was wearing one of his t-shirts. She was playing on his Nintendo 64..

"Um, miss..?" the girl jumped, turning the game off and standing up so fast he had to blink to realize she moved to just in front of him.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to wake you! I- oh wait, I'm sorry I should have left when I woke up- no wait! I mean.. that came out wrong.."

He stood there in shock. It _was_ the pretty waitress. What was her name.. Lucy? She was looking at the floor, hair all in a mess, wearing a shirt that was way too big for her, but it looked good on her. And not just because it was his shirt, it was his favorite work-out shirt. It was blue with Pikachu on it. She also had on..

"Are those my glasses?" He said in a small voice. He hates his glasses, but he stares at computer and TV screens all day. They're necessary..

"Yes! Sorry! I left mine at home and I don't like playing without them so I saw these in the bathroom and they work fine for me so I borrowed them! I'm so sorry..." She quickly took them off and handed them to him, still not looking at him.

"It's OK.." he took them from her, "you're.. Lucy.. right?"

She looked at him finally, a small smile on her face, "Yes, I had a feeling you wouldn't know. You were pretty drunk last night."

Last night, oh God, "Oh, uh, last night.. we didn't uh.. I mean, did we..?"

She blushed prettily, "Yeah, we did."

Natsu sat down in his computer chair that was nearby, dumbfounded.

"Oh man," he put his face in his hands," I am so sorry.."

"Sorry.. for what?" she put her hands on her knees so she could lean down and look at his face. He looked at her through his fingers.

"You have a boyfriend.. don't you?"

Her blush darkened, "Oh, well.."

Natsu completely moved his hands into his lap, "You said the other day you were taken?"

She smiled sheepishly at him, "I did say that. But I don't have a boyfriend."

He didn't know weather to be relieved or insulted, "So why did you say it?"

"I may not have a boyfriend, but I am taken by someone," she put her hands on her hips and grinned, "or should I say something."

"Huh?"

"Games," she looked at the floor and laughed a little, "I am taken by video games. No guy wants to date a girl who would rather play a game then go out.. so I tell people I'm taken so it doesn't come up."

Natsu's mouth was on the floor. Had this girl just told him the same thing he told Gray?

"Anyway, last night, when you came up to me, I could tell you were drunk. I thought you recognized me, but didn't at the same time. So I accepted your offer to dance," she giggled, "you asked me if I would come home, you said ' _my loins burn for you, please come with me to douse the flames_ '."

Natsu groaned, only his drunk side would make him sound like a fool.

"I was going to say no.. but, you come to restaurant all the time. I think the only time I've seen you in there with a girl is when you come with that friend of yours and his girlfriend and when you come with that younger girl, who I'm sure is your sister. I've been working there almost 4 years now. So I know it's been a while since you've brought a girl yourself.. so I thought it would be nice, I've kinda... had a little crush on you.. for a while now... you're cute and funny, I love the notes you leave on the checks. So I thought, why not? So we got in my car and drove here. And here we are.."

Natsu stared at her, this couldn't be happening.. this couldn't be happening..

"So.. when you woke up this morning.. you decided to raid my closet and house?"

She squealed, "No, actually. I woke up about 7," Natsu looked at the computer and it was close to 10 now, "I was waiting for you to get up so we could talk, but watching you sleep got boring after a while.. so I got up, this shirt was on your dresser, I didn't think you would mind, I went to get some coffee started. You were still asleep about an hour later, so I wandered. You have a very impressive house. And when I found this room, I couldn't leave. There is so much to look at! I cannot believe how much you have! I'm so jealous!," she giggled more, "So I didn't want to just sit and wait.. I got out Super Mario for the 64.. I hope you don't mind.."

"No, I don't mind, not one bit," Lucy glanced up at his smiling face.

"Really?"

"Well yeah! You think it's hard to find a GUY who likes a girl who plays? What about me? There are hardly any women out there who want to date a professional gamer."

Her eyes lit up, "You're.. you're a professional gamer?"

It was his turn for his eyes to light up, she was interested in his work! "Yeah, I get paid to play new games, create demos, and write walkthroughs. It's a pretty sweet deal."

"That's amazing! My father would kill me if I told him that's what I want to be.."

"Well, my mom tried," he had a feeling of male pride swell inside of him as she laughed.

"I can't believe it, you're pretty much living my dream," she gazed around the room with wistfulness.

In a split second, he had a vision of genius, "You're more than welcome to come here anytime and play whatever you want."

She spun to face him, "Really?!"

"On one condition," he smirked when her face fell.

"Which is?" she was prepared for him to say she had to pay him..

"You have to let me take you out on a real date."

"That's your condition?" She was relieved.

"Yeah.. I guess you could say I feel the same," when she looked confused he continued, "the only reason I go eat where you work is because of you. I didn't think I had a chance because of my job, so I never said anything to you. I was a little disappointed when you turned me down when my friend asked you out for me the other day.."

She started to giggle, "we're both idiots."

He laughed with her, "really," he then thought about why she was here, "look about last night, my friends were trying to get me with someone, I didn't want to honestly. And I'm sorry about what I said, my brain and mouth don't work together when I drink. And I'm pretty sure I didn't.. perform.. well last night either. So sorry about that too.."

The next thing he knew, Natsu was pushed back in his chair, and he looked up and saw a very seductive smile on this perfect girls face, and yes, she was perfect.

"I'll agree to your condition, you can take me out this Tuesday, say 6? And also, last night wasn't the best, I'll agree with you there. But you can make it up to me by having another round," she tried to stay in sexy girl mode as long as she could, his adorable face was making it hard.

"Really?" he was about to pull her down into his lap when she stepped back.

"That is, if you can beat me," she gestured to the game she was playing earlier.

"You think you can beat me?" he stood and stated walking to her, "I play games for a living now, little girl."

"Oh, I'm confidant, Duck Hunter was my game as a kid," she kept walking backwards, out of his reach.

"I was the king of Duck Hunter in 2nd grade. I still kick Gray's ass every time we play."

"Well then, I guess we'll see.." she left it open, hoping he would fill the blank.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, "Natsu, it's nice to officially meet you Lucy."

She put her arms around his shoulders, "It's nice to finally meet you as well, Natsu. I think this is the start of an amazing relationship."

"You can say that again," she didn't get a chance to say anything, as he dropped her and got the game ready for two players, determined to get that second round. Gray was right, having a girl to play with was going to be fun. And so rewarding too. She was funny, sweet, kind, beautiful, seductive, and most of all, it appeared that games were a big part of her life too. He wouldn't mind having a girlfriend around if it was this pretty little thing.

"Ready? Set? GO!"


	4. How-To on YouTube

After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I think it'll be easier to find certain chapters this way. I hope you don't mind :)

 _Fairy Tail_ and it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

NOTE: The video portion of the story is in italics.

 **Summary:** Natsu watches his best friend and long time crushes famous YouTube show 'How-To' every Sunday. He eventually gets the courage to ask her out.

* * *

"Don't run in the house!" his mother yelled as he made his way upstairs to his room.

Natsu ran as fast as he could up the stairs, the same stairs he's fallen down many times because of this very reason.

It was Sunday night, and it was almost time.

"Natsu! Did you finish your homework?" his little sister Wendy asked from the hall.

"Of course I did!" he huffed as he looked on his computer for a link.

"Just checking," she ran off, probably to go pester their older brother.

He closed his door and got comfy. Every Sunday he made a point to get on YouTube and watch the popular little show 'How-To'. The girl who hosted the show explained how to do stuff, stupid stuff, hilarious stuff. Sometimes she got her friends to, but most of the time it was just her. His favorite so far was the one where she and her friend Juvia explained how to stalk people on a date, and the couple just happened to be the most secretive couple at school, Erza and Jellal, who had yet to officially tell people they were dating even though they all knew.

Her name was Lucy Heartfilia, she was actually his best friend. He had grown up with her and all their friends. As they were going through their early teen years, he started to call her 'Werido' and she affectionately called him a perv. It was fun banter between friends.

But things change over the years. She had grown into a beautiful young woman. A woman he had an embarrassingly huge crush on.

 _"Hey guys! Welcome to How-To on YouTube with me, Lucy!"_

He smiled as it started. He loved watching this show. It was the only reason he looked forward to Sunday night.

 _"As you can all tell, I got new glasses," the blonde sitting on her bed pointed to the new frames on her face, "I absolutely hate them, they make me look weird."_

"Nah, you look good," Natsu commented to himself.

 _"So anyway, what are we going to do today? I'm so glad you asked! I'm going to teach you_ _ **HOW-TO ANNOY THE ONES YOU LOVE**_ _! And I have here to help me as always is the lovely Juvia," the camera turned to a blue haired girl who was frowning._

 _"Why the frown Juvia?" the girls often forgot they were recording and had odd conversations on the show, which made it so popular._

 _"Juvia does not want to do this.."_

 _"Oh come on! It's all in good fun!"_

 _"Juvia does not want to be annoying one!"_

 _"But you agreed.."_

 _"Juvia does not want to annoy her Gray-Sama!"_

Natsu huffed. Gray was his annoying best friend. Juvia has been in love with him for _years_. The stripper had actually been on a few of their shows. He always bragged about it too, which made Natsu furious.

 _"Oh please, he's used to it. For those who don't know, Gray is a good friend of ours who helps out every now and then. And it's no secret how my dear friend Juvia feels about him. Today, he's going to be the target of our show, not that he knows that," Lucy laughed at Juvia's pouting face._

 _"Alright, lets go!" The screen flip-flopped and now the local mall was on the screen._

 _"OK, here we are at Regency Square. We just saw Gray walk inside, so lets hurry," Lucy was heard behind the camera, the screen turned to see Juvia, "Come on girl!"_

 _"If Gray-Sama hates Juvia, Juvia will eternally hate you love rival," Juvia walked ahead of her. The camera moved to show Lucy's face._

 _"For the millionth time, I am not a love rival. Gray is like my brother, I have never been interested in him like that," Lucy sighed as she moved the camera back to follow Juvia who was now at the mall doors._

Natsu watched as Lucy followed Juvia around for a good 10 minutes when they finally found their target at the video game store. Lucy stayed hidden as she filmed Juvia be, well, Juvia towards Gray. For those who didn't personally know Gray, it looked like he was dying to get away from the crazy girl who wouldn't let go of his arm. But Natsu knows that he actually loves the attention. He was just waiting until the perfect time to tell her.

 _"I see you, Lucy!" Gray yelled as he finally spotted the blonde._

 _"Aww!" her voice was heard behind the camera again, "No fair!"_

 _"Gray-sama! Juvia is sorry! Juvia never meant to bother you! It was the blonde bimbo's idea!" a faint 'some friend you are' was heard, "Juvia wanted to find someone else to annoy but Lucy said that you would be perfect! Juvia knows that Gray-sama is perfect in every way! But Juvia never wanted to annoy you!"_

 _Juvia burst into tears and Gray was desperatley trying to console her. Next thing he knew Juvia was balling into his chest._

 _"Geez, good going Lucy. Next time go annoy Natsu or something."_

That certainly made Natsu laugh.

 _"Yeah, right. He'd be better at doing the annoying."_

Natsu pouted at that.

 _Lucy's pretty face came back on the screen, "OK guys, that's it for today! Hope you got some tips on how to annoy your loved ones! Until next time!"_

He watched as the 'credits' rolled. And then the video ended. He closed the browser and jumped into his bed. He looked up to his ceiling, grinning.

* * *

Natsu and Gajeel walked Wendy to the middle school before making their way to the high school.

"Let me ask you something, Metal Head."

"What?" the eldest grunted.

"Levy and Lucy are close, yeah?"

Gajeel narrowed his eyes at the mention of his girlfriend, "Yeah?"

"You think she'd know who Lucy might like?" Natsu nervously asked his brother.

" _Gihihi_ , so you like bunny girl, huh?"

"What?! Who said that?!" Natsu sputtered and looked around.

"Oh come on, it's pretty obvious, has been for a while," Gajeel slapped him on the back.

"Whatever, so?"

" _Gihihi,_ course she does, so do I."

Natsu's mouth gaped open like a fish. Gajeel laughed and kept walking, once at the gate, Natsu ran in front of him.

"You're not gonna tell me who?! That's not fair man!"

"I ain't even supposed to know flame brain. I ain't about to get killed before I graduate. 'Sides, Valentines Day is this week. Shorty said she was gonna give the guy chocolate or something. So you'll have to wait."

"But dude! That's not til Saturday!"

"Get over it!" Gajeel left Natsu at the door, a smirk on his face so big that the freshman scampered away.

"What's with that face?" Natsu spun around to see the face of an angel.

"Oh, hey Lucy! Metal face is just being an ass, but what else is new," he grinned making the blonde laugh.

"What are we going to do without him next year?" Lucy asked as she and Natsu went to their lockers. Their large group of friends were made up of mostly juniors. Gajeel, Jellal, Erza, and Mira were seniors, Lisanna was a sophomore, and Laxus was the only one who had graduated so far.

"Be free!" Natsu threw his books up in the air like confetti.

"Free of what, stupidity? You'll never be free of that," Gray chuckled as he approached his locker right next to Natsu's.

"Shut it popsicle. And no, free of Gajeel next year. And the devil! And the not-so-secret couple!"

Lucy giggled at the two as Levy came up to her, Gajeel and Juvia were behind her.

"Gray-sama!"

"Man.."

"HAHAHA. That's what you get Ice Princess!"

"You wanna call me that again flame breath?!"

"Watch it you guys- OW!"

"HEY! Leave Levy outta this ya morons!"

Lucy glanced at them as the fight broke out before their first class. Not a day went by that this didn't happen. She so wished she could record it and put it on her show! To bad phones were banned from school. She looked up at the pink haired pyro maniac and smiled softly. She sure did love these guys.

* * *

The week went by too fast for Natsu. Valentine's Day was on Saturday but all the girls were giving their gifts out on Friday.

Their mother, Grandina, had to work the late shift on Wednesday so she made her boys help Wendy make candies for her classmates. Both were shocked to find out that Wendy was going to make a special batch for a _boy._ When Igneel walked in the kitchen because he heard too much noise coming from his kids, he found they were having a two-on-one flour fight and yelling about boys. Of course, finding out the information for the first time about _his_ little sky princess, it turned into a three-on-one fight.

When Grandina returned, her kitchen was a mess. Her family wasn't much better. She demanded that the boys clean the kitchen and finish Wendy's candy by themselves as she took her daughter to get dinner.

The fight made Natsu forget his worries for a night. That is, until he got to school Thursday morning. The halls were decorated in pinks, whites, reds, hearts, flowers, and just all things lovie dovie. Not to mention all the girls were going crazy. At least Lucy was acting somewhat normal, she looked kinda tired though.

"You OK, Luce?" he asked as he sat next to her at the lunch table.

"Yeah, just a little tired, that's all," she smiled to him and then dug into her lunch.

"Did you have that much homework? Or were you recording?"

"I only record on Saturday. And it wasn't homework that kept me up, it was something else.." she took a big bite of her pizza so she couldn't talk.

"Oh.."he decided to drop the issue. Not knowing how the answer would effect him.

* * *

Natsu slowly walked to his locker Friday morning. He stood there for just a moment, watching Gray pull out tons of Juvia shaped chocolate bars out of his own locker.

"Geez, does she always have to try so hard?"

Natsu laughed as put in his combination. He saw a few bags full of chocolate, from girls he'd probably never even talked to before, he didn't recognize the names. At the bottom, there was a baby blue heart shaped box with a pink bow criss crossing it and held together with a heart. It had a not attached to it:

 _Fire is red,_

 _Ice is blue,_

 _Happy Valentine's Day,_

 _I love you,_

 _Lucy_

The shock on his faced quickly melted into the biggest grin that Gray had ever seen on his face.

"Yes! **I'M ALL FIRED UPPPP**!"

He left all the bags in his locker and ran to his first class with the box in his hand.

When he got there, it was pretty much empty. But there was a pretty blonde with her head on her desk near the window. He grinned, knowing exactly why she had her head down.

He took his seat next to her and started to open the little box, he saw her move slightly so she could watch through the cover of her bangs.

The box was full of heart shaped chocolates, some were shaped like fire, some were key shaped. He didn't know where she got those shapes but he was glad that she did.

He took one of the fire shaped ones and popped into his mouth. Now, Natsu likes spicy and salty foods, sweet wasn't his thing, but these had to be hands down the best chocolate he had ever tasted. They weren't bitter, but they weren't overly sweet either. Almost like they had been made with tastes in mind.

"Man, that's some damn good chocolate. They're perfect," he put another one in his mouth and let it dissolve.

Lucy put her face back into her arms on the desk to hide her growing blush. She felt arms wrap around her and lips were in her hair.

"Thanks Luce, I love 'em," he squeezed her some more, "How about we go out tonight?"

Lucy sat up and looked at the broad smile on his handsome face, while hers was masked with disbelief, "Really? Like a date?"

"Well, yeah," he looked anywhere but at the blondes face, "Cause ya know, I- I love- love you too.. so yeah.."

"Oh, Natsu.." the bell cut her off.

Students quickly took their seats, Natsu sat back down in his so he wouldn't be in trouble, again.

Lucy started to get her books and notebook ready for class when she felt something warm take her hand. Natsu had grabbed her hand in his, kissed it, and winked at her.

Lucy's blush spread. She couldn't hide it or the big smile on her face from anyone, including Levy who sat in front of her. It didn't help that Natsu spent the whole class period, eating the chocolates she worked so hard to make for him.

* * *

A month later, it was Sunday, March 15th, the day after White Day. Natsu was once again signing into YouTube to watch his girlfriends weekly show. That's right, girlfriend! They had gone out to dinner that night, it didn't feel any different than when they normally went out, except that it was much more intimate. Their relationship changed forever when he kissed her goodnight.

 _"Hey guys! Welcome to How-To on YouTube with me, Lucy!_

He smiled when he saw her beautiful face.

 _"I hope everyone had a lovely White day! You guys should comment and tell me what you got! And before we get started, let me show you what my wonderful boyfriend got for me, and yes, sorry fellas, but I am taken," she smirked into the camera and got up to get her gift._

He was kinda embarrassed that she was gonna show hundreds of people his oh-so-sweet gift to her..

 _Lucy sat down with a white, shaking, poofy thing in her arms, she was also holding a small box._

 _"This, you guys, is the cutest little guy ever! Meet Plue!" Lucy held up the small white dog for the camera to see._

"Plue.." he still wasn't to sure about the name..

" _Gihihi_ " "Awww!"

Natsu spun around in his computer chair and found his siblings standing behind him watching the screen.

"What the hell? How long have you been in here?!"

"The whole time, bro."

"That's so sweet of you Natsu!"

"GET OUT!"

"Come on, Wendy. Let's go watch it down stairs with Ma and Igneel."

"OK!"

"DON'T SHOW IT TO THEM!"

 _"He also got me this."_

Natsu turned back around to his computer and saw Plue was sitting quietly in his new masters lap as she opened the box. She took out a white gold necklace with a key on it. It was engraved too. The clerk at the jewelry store had asked him if he wanted to engrave the cliche line 'key to my heart' on it like every other sap did. No. Lucy deserved better than that.

So instead it says: _Love is the key which opens the gates of happiness,_ Lucy had nearly cried when she read it.

 _"This necklace is special to me in more ways than one. He had to have put a lot of thought into, which means the world to me."_

He smiled softly at that. He watched as she put it around her neck and then lightly hold it in her hand.

 _"I promise that I will never take it off."_

He felt like she was staring right at him when she winked and blew a kiss.

"Aren't you the sweetest, Natsu!" he heard his mother yell from downstairs.

"Geez," at that moment his phone blew up. Messages from his friends, no message was longer than matchmaker-Mira's was though.

He groaned, looked at the computer and sighed, "Well, at least you're worth it," Lucy giggled, like she had heard him or something.

 _"Ok, now that that's out of the way, what are we doing today? I'm so glad you asked!"_


	5. Movie Day Make Up

After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I think it'll be easier to find certain chapters this way. I hope you don't mind :)

 _Fairy Tail_ and it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

 **Summary:** Lucy and Natsu have a argument that could possible end their relationship. But when Lucy gets sick, it's up to Natsu to go and take care of her, and apologize.

* * *

"Mmm," Lucy stretched her arms above her head, "It feels good to be off that train!"

Her boyfriend of two years mumbled, "Yeah, well at least you didn't get sick."

She hugged one of his arms to her chest, "Forget about it, now we can go relax and get out of the cold!"

It was winter break for the college students and they had spent the day in the next town over with their friends at the ice skate rink.

"Yepp," he slung an arm around her shoulders as he grinned at her, "No one else, just you and me. Alone. The way it should be."

Lucy giggled, hiding her face in his trusty scarf, "What's that about?"

"At the rink," Natsu huffed as he explained, nuzzling into her pink beanie, "You wouldn't stop flirting with Loke."

Lucy leaned away from him, getting a better look at his face, "Flirting? I wasn't flirting."

The snow on the ground fluttered around as Natsu stopped abruptly.

"Yes you were!" he tugged his arm away from her, ignoring the hurt look on her adorable face, "You were holding onto him the whole time and laughing at everything he said!"

"I was holding onto him because I was afraid I was going to fall!" She stomped her foot in the snow, causing it to scatter, "You were to busy fighting with Gray and Gajeel to notice!"

Natsu groaned. Not this again. They fought about this all the time. It drove him crazy with how easy it was for her to talk to other guys when he was standing _right there_!

"Well," but he couldn't argue, because he was fighting with them, "You coulda hung onto Levy or the wall!"

Grinding her teeth, Lucy spat out, "Levy wasn't around me! And I didn't need to hang onto the wall because I can skate! I just needed the someone to be my safety net in case I did feel like I was going to fall. I just wanted to be safe!"

"And Loke makes you safe?!"

"He did at the time! You didn't hear me calling for you!" She screamed back at him, she hated it when his jealousy came out.

"Well try harder!" his heart started racing, fighting with Lucy was normal, because normally their fights were silly, but there was something else in her tone today that scared him, "I'm the only one who you should feel safe with!"

Lucy balled her fists at her side, the look on his face didn't match his emotions, and normally she saw that. But not today, she was too blinded by her own emotions that she couldn't tell. And to Natsu it was weird, she never got this heated about something, especially since it wasn't the first time they fought about this.

"Is that how you feel? It's your job to keep me safe and no one else's?" she was oddly calm now.

"Of course it is!" where was she going with this? "I'm your boyfriend ain't I?!"

She glanced to the side, avoiding looking him in the eye, "Well, maybe that's the problem."

The fire left Natsu in a heartbeat, his heart stopped, "..what?"

Lucy crossed her arms and stared at the snow covered ground, crisscrossing her ankles to keep from shaking, both from the cold and what she was about to say.

"Maybe.. we should take a break.."

It was like the world crashed. Everything stopped moving, "But.. why?! Because of a fight.. or is it because I couldn't hear you.. or-"

"It's nothing like that," she was now speaking in a whisper, she was just as scared of this as he was, "Loke was telling me that because we spend most of our time together, that maybe a little time apart would make us appreciate the other more. And if we did, next time you would hear me instead of ignoring me."

"But I didn't ignore you! I didn't even hear you! And every time I looked at you, you were paying attention to him!" after they settled this, he was going to ring Loke's neck, "And I looked pretty damn often!"

"Still!" For once he was going to listen to her, "I think he was right! We've hung out with each other almost every day for the last 5 years! As best friends and these last two as a couple!"

"That's what best friends and couples do!"

"Not this much! I can't remember a day that we haven't seen each other, Natsu!" she placed a hand on her chest to calm down, "I love you, I want to be with you.. but I think we need some space or else we're going to say or do something we'll regret."

With wide eyes and a aching heat, Natsu shook his head. This wasn't happening, all he did was the same stuff he's always done. He didn't change, nothing is different. What made this time so different? "No."

"Natsu," she sighed, "just a small break. And you can't just say 'no' to change my mind."

"No," his voice cracked terribly, "No, Lucy.. Don't.."

"I'm not breaking up with you," she quickly added, this wasn't something she wanted to do either. She stood in front of him and held his arms down by his sides, knowing that if she let him hug her he wouldn't let go. She softly kissed his cheek, "Just a little time apart. That's all. You can still text me, you can call me. We just.. won't see each other for a while.."

Natsu just shook his head no, he wanted to hold her to his chest and never let go. But it would hurt too much watching her reject him.

She took a few steps back, "I love you, Natsu," she wiped away the stray tears that escaped her eyes, "bye.."

She hugged herself tightly as she did the hardest thing she's ever had to do, walk away from him.

He furiously wiped his face with his arm, willing the tears to stay away. He was a man, he didn't cry. He took one last look at her fading figure before bolting in the other direction. Grinding his teeth so hard it hurt, hoping everyone would see the water on his face as melted snow, rather than the tears he couldn't stop.

He ran all the way to the cafe that they at earlier, hoping he was still there.

Bursting through the doors, he panted heavily, looking at every face he saw, but didn't see the one he needed. He cursed, about to leave, then he saw Mira behind the counter. She was laughing at the boys in front of her.

Just the bastard he was looking for.

 _ **"LOKKEEE!"**_

The redhead looked up a second too late. A fist was in his face. He slid off his seat and onto the floor.

"Oh goodness!" Mirajane ran around the counter to get to Loke, but Natsu got there first.

"Natsu!" Gray yelled, jumping on Natsu's back, stopping him from pounding Loke's face in. The angry pinkette desperately tried to swing at the man he was straddling, but he wasn't strong enough to get out of Gray's vice grip.

"What the hell man!"

 _ **"LET ME GOOOO!"**_

"Are you OK?" Mira helped Loke sit up, "Apologize right now! That was uncalled for!"

Loke wiped the blood off his lip and fixed his now broken glasses, sending daggers at Natsu, "What did I ever do to you?!"

Natsu growled, "You made Lucy break up with me!"

Gray loosened his grip, "what?"

"She broke up with you?" Mira whispered.

"Well," Natsu shook his head and stared at the floor, "she said we're just on a break," he turned to glare at Loke, "but you're still the one to make her do it!"

Loke raised his hands in defense, "I didn't make her do anything. All I said was that some time apart would make you appreciate her the way she is meant to be treated," he pushed his glasses up higher on his nose, "absence _does_ make the heart grow fonder."

"I'm gonna kill you," Natsu lunged for him but was stopped yet again by Gray, "let me hit him just onceee!"

"No, you are not starting another fight," Mira's stern voice told him, then she waved an accusing finger at Loke's face, "And whatever you're putting in Lucy's head, stop it!"

"Honestly!" Loke turned to her to explain, "I'm not doing anything! She was complaining how idiot over here cared more about fighting than he did about her! She was saying how she wished he was more responsible and how she wanted a less useless boyfriend!" Loke felt guilt seeing Natsu's fallen and broken face, "she wanted my opinion so I told her that. I wouldn't do anything to hurt your relationship with Lucy. I'm sorry, Natsu."

Gray let go of him, moving to Mira's side so he could see Natsu's face, "You OK, man?"

"I'm useless.. she actually said that..?"

"You're not useless!" Mira cried, "Lucy has been stressed out lately with school, her new job, and she's trying to work things out with her father! She would never mean that, Natsu!"

Natsu stood slowly, his legs a little shaky, "I'm gonna go."

"Natsu!" Mirajane was in tears as she jumped up and gathered him into her arms, "Lucy loves you! She talks about it all the time!"

"Yeah," Gray stood too, rubbing the side of his neck, "Like she said, she's just stressed."

"Yeah," Natsu removed Mira's arms from him and left the small cafe that had emptied when he attacked Loke.

"Does Lucy," Gray started, unsure if he should really be asking, "really want to end things with Natsu?"

"No," Loke grabbed a napkin to put on his busted lip, "she said that despite all that stuff she loved him. Nothing would ever change that."

"Then why didn't you tell him that!" Mira whirled around and smacked both of their chests, "go after him and tell him that!"

"Ow," Gray whined, there was no reason she should have hit him too.

"He needs to hear that from her, not me," the simple explanation was all he could say.

Just a few steps away from the cafe doors, Natsu was staring up at the gloomy sky as the snow continued to fall. The angels must know how he felt, since the sky wasn't like this an hour ago.

All he could think of was how lonely he was. And he didn't mean because he was physically alone. He meant because Lucy was his world. He spent any time possible with her because she was the only one who truly liked him for who he really was, or that's what he thought.

Closing his eyes, he breathed in the cold air, "Useless. Yeah, guess I am."

Kicking the snow, he made his lonely trek home.

* * *

Two weeks later Natsu was in his apartment. Alone. Doing laundry. A task he hated. For the last year and a half, Lucy had done it for him. And by the looks of the laundry room and the multiple piles of clothes needing to be washed, you could see she hadn't been around in a while. He hadn't seen Lucy since that day, his only company since their 'break' started was his little buddy Happy. He only left the apartment if he had to. Winter break still had a week left to go. And this whole time, he had been miserable.

Pulling his trusty scarf out of the dryer, he wrapped it around his neck. He finally took Lucy's advice and washed it.

They had text at least once a day. Small talk, nothing about their relationship. But Natsu hadn't dare to call her. After learning what he did from Loke, he couldn't bare it.

Moving to the living room with his basket, he sat down in the floor and began to fold his underwear. Lucy always told him that you should wash them first, since they were mandatory to wear.

He thought about Lucy. At first, he was hurt and angry. But after a few days by himself, he realized that she was OK in saying that. After all, she had said it before. All the other times she said when they were goofing off, though.

Lucy _had_ been stressed out a lot lately, she had used him as a stress relief more often than not. He smirked at that, pretty sweet deal if you ask him.

But he had often heard Lucy complain like that before about their friends. When she's upset she always says something she doesn't mean, but later she feels terrible to the point she'll make herself sick and will apologize to him for saying it and do something super nice for that person.

"I just thought, if she needed to complain about me.. she'd complain to me.." he dug another cloth from the basket. He cringed when he spread it out. It was a cotton white t-shirt of Lucy's, she left it here so she could sleep in it, "Damn it, I really miss you Lucy.."

He fingered the cat in the middle of the shirt, it was super small. It rolled half way up her belly during the night and stopped under her generous breasts. He loved waking up with her in his arms. He would wake up before her sometimes and just watch her sleep.

"Nnngg," he fell backwards, his head resting on the couch, "When did I become such a sap?"

He knew exactly when. And why.

 _"Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes. And she's gone. Lucy in the sky with diamonds.."_

He just stared at his phone as it sang. That was Lucy's ringtone.

He didn't hesitate to answer, "Hello?"

 _"Hey, Natsu,"_ he voice was literal music to his ears.

"Lucy," he sighed in relief, it had been two weeks since he heard this melody. But.. "You Ok? You sound kinda sick."

 _"Yeah.. I've got a pretty bad cold.."_ she coughed a few times before he replied.

"You never get sick though.."

 _"I was out in the snow for a long time a few weeks ago.. I've been feeling terrible ever since.."_

"Lucy.." if he could have, he would be there right now to take care of her. He would have been there every moment she let him. He would break in the window if he had too.

 _"I'm OK, really. Levy's been coming over. She's actually out right now getting my medicine,"_ she sneezed. And it sucked, her sneezes were too cute, " _I just.. really wanted to talk to you. I miss you."_

"I miss you too," unconsciously he hugged her t-shirt to his chest, "Lucy, I'm so sorry-"

 _"No. You don't have anything to be sorry for. This is all my fault."_

"I don't see anything you did wrong."

 _"I said some horrible things about you,"_ she sniffed, he could tell she was crying, _"and I hate that I did because I love you so much and I can't believe what a horrible person I am for even thinking I deserve you.."_

"Lucy.." he knew she was talking about what Loke said, "whatever you said.. I don't care.. it was in the heat of the moment. I know how you are."

 _"But, I can't believe I said it.. I mean.. I don't think those things, at all! You're perfect and I ruined everything by taking this stupid break and now I have cold because I sat outside my apartment that day for an hour crying and it doesn't even compare to what you're going though and I don't know what else will make it up to yo-"_

"Wait, wait wait," he sat up fast enough to give himself a head rush, "You sat outside in the snow, got sick, all because you wanted to make it up to me?!"

 _"I didn't get sick on purpose, dummy,"_ a quick intake of breath and she added _, "no! I'm sorry, I don't mean you're dumb I just mean-"_

"I know what you mean.." he heard her sigh and take another deep breath, which was hard with a stuffy nose.

 _"Natsu, I don't know what I can do to say just how sorry I am.."_

He smiled, he never should have worried, "Let me come over and take care of you. And we'll be even."

 _"What? No, that's not enough!"_

"It's enough for me. These last two weeks have been hell Lucy, I just want to hold you."

 _"...even when I look like hell?"_

He chuckled, he didn't care what she looked like, she was beautiful at three in the morning going to the bathroom, "especially when you look like hell."

Hearing her giggle made him feel so much better, _"You're still the sweetest guy I've ever met."_

"So.."

 _"If you bring Happy, you can come over now."_

Natsu jumped out of the floor and raced to his bedroom to throw on actual clothes, and some cologne, "I'll be there in just a few minutes."

 _"OK. I love you."_

He slowed down and grinned into his forearm, "I love you more."

 _"See you in a bit,"_ she hung up and Natsu threw a fist bump to the ceiling, "HAPPY!"

15 minutes later, Natsu and a irate blue cat were standing in front of apartment 72 with a bag full of food and movies and a bouquet of Lilies.

Levy was the one to open the door, "Hey Natsu."

"Hey," Natsu _really_ hoped she wasn't staying.

"I just brought Lucy her medicine. Make sure she takes in an hour, OK?"

"Got it," he was about to walk in as she left, but a small hand touched his shoulder, "don't be too hard on her OK? She's been taking this break really hard. It made her sick before she actually got sick."

Levy's concern lightened Natsu's heart. Lucy was in good hands while he wasn't able to be there, "Don't worry. I ain't about to do anything to screw this up."

As Levy walked away he heard a cough, a small cute little voice that was perfect. In his opinion.

He shut the door behind him and set Happy on the floor, the cat scampered off. He was not happy right now, ironically. He hated the cold.

"Happy!" Natsu listened to her play with the cat as he put food in the fridge, he found his left over pizza and sports drinks in there. He grinned, it was old now. But the gesture was the best.

He shrugged out of his coat, he was wearing a thin white cotton long sleeved shirt and loose grey sweats. He picked up the bag of movies and flowers and walked into Lucy's spacious living room.

She was sitting in her recliner, snuggled into the zodiac blanket he got her for her birthday a few years ago. Happy was on top of her knees over the blanket, rubbing his head on her chin.

He coughed to get her attention. Her eyes snapped to his. She ducked down behind Happy to hide her face, probably thinking she looked horrible, when the truth was actually the total opposite.

"Hey," Natsu sat the movies on the coffee table and stood next to the recliner. He smiled down at her, he rested a hand on her head, moving the hair out of her eyes, "How you feel?"

"Awful," she sat up and put Happy on the ground, he ran off to her bedroom, "but, I'm better now."

He shook his head, grinning at her, "well you look great, honest," he added when she looked at him weird, "these are for you."

He handed the bouquet to her, making the blonde's eyes water, "Oh Natsu," she stood and wrapped her arms around him, he quickly returned the favor. Man, it felt good to have her against him.

"These are beautiful," she sniffed, she leaned in to kiss him, but then covered her mouth and backed away, "I'm sick."

"I don't care, come here-" he pouted when she took the flowers and ran to the kitchen, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING?!"

She was in an old baseball shirt that Natsu had left and gym shorts, the only thing on her warm was the fuzzy socks that went to her knees, "What about it?" Lucy placed the vase on the counted and looked her attire.

"You're sick! Wear a freaking sweater and three pairs of pants!" He almost ripped his hair out as he stood across the counter from her.

"Three pairs of pants?" she asked, completely turned off by the idea, "I was burning up in my sleep pants, and I was in my blanket. I'm not even that sick."

She ended her statement by an onslaught of sneezes.

"Yeah, sure," he ran around the counter and picked her up princess style.

"HEY!"

He carefully put her on the couch and grabbed her zodiac blanket and another blanket on the back of the couch. He threw them on her and picked up the first movie on his stack and messed with it for a few minutes, "Want anything before I sit down?"

Lucy fixed the blankets and then huffed at him, "You know we can't watch a movie without popcorn."

"Right!" he tripped into the kitchen and got popcorn and drinks, to make her feel better, he got sprite too. Even thought it was pretty awful.

"Here ya go," he sat down next to her and got comfy before starting the movie.

Lucy leaned on his shoulder as he snuck an arm around her waist, "Harry Potter?"

"Yep," he he put his nose in her hair, "all 8. We got a lot of snuggling to catch up on."

She sobered up, "Natsu. That day at the rink.. I told Loke-"

"I know what you said. He told me," he let the smell of her strawberry shampoo take over his entire body.

She started to tear up, "I'm so, so sorry Natsu. I was upset and everything was getting crazy and-"

The taste of her lips had never been sweeter. He released her lips and then peppered her face with kisses.

"Haha! Natsuuuu! Stopp!" Lucy fell onto her back as Natsu continued to kiss her face and neck and arms, "OK, OK!"

He grinned, pulling her back up and putting both arms around her, "I know, weirdo. I've probably said some pretty shitty stuff about you too when I was mad. But I'd never mean it. I know you didn't either."

"Really? You're not mad?" Lucy knew then she would never let him go again.

"Of course not. How could I ever stay mad at you?" he placed his forehead on hers as he stared into her breathtaking eyes, "I love you."

"I love you more," she smiled as tears trickled down her face. He wiped away the tears with his thumbs as he brought her in for another kiss.

* * *

 _"I'm still sick, ya know."_

 _"You'll just have to take care of me when I catch it then!"_


	6. Rock Bottom Blues

After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I think it'll be easier to find certain chapters this way. I hope you don't mind :)

 **WARNING:** if you struggle with anxiety, depression, or just don't like sad stuff, please don't read. I know this may not even categorize as any of that but I just want to be careful. So if you see something that is alarming to you, please stop reading. I will not blame you.

 _Fairy Tail_ and it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

 **Summary:** Lucy hit rock bottom. In her job, car, home. Nothing was going her way. But a kind smile and hope can go a long way.

* * *

"Here ya go ma'am!" Lucy's friendly mail man waved to her as she got out of her car. He always made it to her house right when she got home. Normally she would have pleasant conversation with him..

"Thank you," she mentally groaned seeing the multiple bills in the pile.

 _"Oh great, that medical bill is here already.."_

"You alright?" her mail man asked, he was already back in his little car that didn't have a door.

"Yes, thank you, " she scurried into the house, not trying to be rude but not wanting to talk about what was bothering her.

Throwing the mail on her table, she glanced in the fridge. She wondered how long she could go without buying groceries that weren't microwavable.

"I'm really.. not hungry.." she grabbed a water and the mail and went to her office.

"Car payment.. medical.. the house payment is late, again.."

Lucy Heartfilia was in a bind. More than a bind, really. If you asked her she had sunk past rock bottom a few months ago. They cut her hours at work back to barely a couple days a week. The only things she could pay for these days were half of her bills, put a little gas in the car, and MAYBE food. She begged her boss for more hours but she was a horrible little woman.

Looking for another job was pointless too, she worked in retail and finding a job to work around her erratic schedule was torture. She had been to so many interviews but she hadn't heard a thing.

She couldn't get a loan or a credit card either, her credit score had plummeted. And she couldn't ask her father, she refused. She told him she could make it on her own. If she went back to him, asking for help, he would marry her off to some rich business partner of his.

Her friends constantly told her they would help, but she would feel terrible every time she saw them until she could pay them back. And about a month ago she had a boyfriend who vowed to help her..

..but a few days after he said that she caught him cheating on her. So there went that plan.

Lucy placed her head in her hands, what was she supposed to do?

* * *

"Wa.. what?"

"I'm sorry Lucy," the short plump woman who Lucy worked for sat calmly at her desk, feet propped up as she filed her nails, "I just don't have the means to keep you anymore."

"But.. I need this job.. I'm so behind on my bills! I'm a good worker if you would just give me a chance! Please-"

"Sorry dear, not my problem," the woman didn't even look up, "Your shift is over now, go on home."

Lucy bit her lip, fighting back tears as she walked out of the office.

When she got to the front computer to clock out, her co-worker spoke up, "I was actually starting to like you, Blondie."

Hitting 'enter' on the keyboard, Lucy turned away so she couldn't see her glassy eyes, "I was starting to like you too, Flare."

Lucy sat in her car until her tears dried up. The drive home was quiet, her thoughts going a mile a minute.

"Oh! Hey there Miss Lucy!" her mail man was cheerful as ever.

"Hi," she didn't feel like entertaining him today.

"Here ya go," all he handed her was a magazine, _thank God!_ , "You OK? Ya look kinda down."

"I'm fine.." she swallowed back the tears, determined to be strong.

"Oh.. OK.." he scratched the back of his neck, he looked like he wanted to say more. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before shaking his head. He waved and went back to his little car. Lucy all but ran inside, feeling terrible but not knowing what to say.

She went straight to the bathroom, striped, and got in the shower. The water was scolding hot, but she didn't care. She sat down and let the water burn her head and back. Tears fell from her eyes.

She was behind on all her bills, in about a month she would have to start paying back her student loans, she had been stuck in writers block for a while, and now she lost her job.

"..maybe.. I should just.. go back home.."

* * *

"That bitch! I can't believe she'd just fire you like that!"

"Well she did," Lucy held her coffee mug close to her lips.

"I hate it for you Luce. Any clue what you're gonna do now?" Cana poured liquid from her flask into her own coffee.

"I don't know, I've applied to a bunch of places, but I haven't heard anything.."

It had only been a few days since she was fired, she had spent the last two days filling out online applications. Fast food places, retail, secretary positions.. anything.

"I'll be on the lookout. And I'll ask pops too," Cana got a doughnut out of the box she brought Lucy to cheer her up.

"Thanks, Cana."

"Mmmkay! Time to go!"

"Go?" Lucy blinked, she didn't want to go anywhere, "Go where?"

"We are gonna go get a massage!" she waved two coupons in front of Lucy's face, "I got these for that new place that just opened up! I hear all the masseuses are hotties!"

"I can't afford it Cana.."

"It's on me," she pulled the blonde up and drug her to the door, "Now move your fine ass booty!"

"But I wont be able to pay you back!"

"Consider it a late birthday present," Cana had bought her edible underwear, which was never opened due to the cheating. She ended up giving it to Erza.

"No, please-" Cana smacked a hand to Lucy's mouth.

"You're going. You're gonna get a massage by a hot ass man and relax," she laughed at Lucy's glare, "and if you lick my hand I'll tell them you want it without your towel!"

"Cana!" Lucy chased after her friend who ran out the door.

"Yo, hot stuff!" Cana waved to the mail man who just drove up.

Even from the porch Lucy could see his cheeks pink. She sheepishly waved and mouthed 'sorry' to him. He grinned and sent her a thumbs up. He pointed to a few things in his hand and placed them in her rarely used mail box. Nodding, she looked at Cana and was shocked to see a smug look on her face.

"What?"

"Flirting with the mail man? I've taught you well," she patted Lucy's shoulder, wiping away a non-existent tear.

"I'm not flirting!" she shoved Cana's hand off her.

"Sure, maybe we should ask if _he'll_ give you a massage instead."

"NO!" in her embarrassed state she didn't notice that he hadn't left, and was blushing at the thought of touching her so intimately, even if it was something that had crossed his mind before.

"Let's go!" Cana ran up to her car. Lucy trailing behind, she saw him drive off to her neighbors. He waved as he drove past. The small signs of a smile graced her face.

* * *

A week later Lucy was at the bank. She tried to get a loan, but of course without an income she couldn't even get a few hundred.

So, she made a decision that she hated, but had to do. She put her house up for sale, and she was moving in with Cana.

She was putting up the 'For Sale' sign with the Realtor number in her yard as the mail man pulled up.

"Need help?" he came up behind her, reaching for the hammer in her hands.

"Oh, sure," she handed it to him. He smiled at her then using strength she never realized he had secured the sign in the ground.

"That should do it," she could have sworn he glared at the sign, "so.. you're moving?

"Yeah. I'm moving in with my friend Cana. The one from the other day.." he looked questionably towards her, "it's a long story."

"Oh," he licked his lips, still glaring at the sign. Then he turned to her with a grin, "Well, I'll surely miss you, Lucy," he chuckled, "you're probably one of the nicest people on my route."

She smiled sadly, "I'll miss you too."

* * *

Two months later, Lucy's house finally sold. That was one weight off her shoulder. But now..

"You have got to be kidding me," she yanked on her hair as smoke came from under the hood of her car.

She was on the way to an interview when her car starting sputtering and bucking, she was glad she pulled over before it stopped completely.

"This can't be happening this can't be happening this can't be happening!"

She ducked when the car spout flames. The precious car she got for high school graduation had blown up.

"Great, just.." she kicked the grass, "perfect!"

* * *

So two months go by. She sold her house. Her car was taken to the shop, but it was going to cost to much to fix it. So now it sat un-moving in the parking lot of her and Cana's apartment building.

She was walking to the grocery store for the 4th time that week. Since she didn't have a car she had to walk everywhere. She hardly ever saw Cana since the woman worked two jobs.

Grabbing a buggy, she looked around for a now hiring sign, sighing when she didn't see one.

Today she was getting cold stuff and bread. Cana made out the list and it was so basic. At least she bought her own alcohol.

Juvia had called Lucy Cana'a "house wife". And although that title really stunk, it was true. She just wished when she was called 'wife' it was to a man she loved and she wasn't swimming in debt and doubt and hurt and sadness..

"Oh! I'm so sorry," her hand knocked into another as she reached for a box of cereal.

"No, that was my fault. Wasn't paying attention, miss."

The familiar voice brought Lucy's attention to the man. He was tall, tan, a crocked grin, and pink hair. She knew him very well, he used to be her mail man after all.

"Natsu?" she had missed that grin.

"Huh? Hey Lucy!" his eyes lit up after seeing her face.

"How are you?" she pulled her buggy to the side, he did the same before pulling her into a side hug. She caught a glimpse of his own buggy, it was full of junk and cat food.

"Pretty good. It's weird not seeing ya everyday. A couple moved in to yer house. Rude ass people.." he mumbled the last part to himself.

She laughed, it had been a really long time since she did.

"How have you been?"

"Alright. Still looking for a job.. and my car blew up on me.."

"That sucks. I know the feeling though. I'm really sorry Lucy," he ruffled his pink locks. He was looking at the ground when she noticed this was the first time she had seen him when he wasn't working.

He was in black shorts and a red long sleeved shirt. He was a walking contradiction with his flip flops and scarf.

He was much cuter in his casual clothes than work clothes. Much cuter.

"So, um.." his face was pink, "the last few months before you moved.. you were upset a lot. Was it because of your job and stuff?"

"Yeah. It was."

"..I'm sorry. Wish I knew. I always saw ya like that and the only thing I wanted to do was make ya smile or laugh.. that's why I always talked to ya and made sure I got there when ya got home..

"I uh.. couldn't do much.. since I was working and stuff. But I'm glad to see you're doing better."

Lucy bit her lip. She noticed that he started talking to her more in the past year. She didn't realize how much he saw, she really missed him, "I'm not really better. Just don't have as much to worry about anymore.."

"Heh. Well you look better," his eyes widened, "Not to say you ever looked bad! You just look happier! And uh.. healthier.. and.. damn it.."

He smacked his head on his buggy. Lucy reached towards him, he was attracting a lot of attention.

"Natsu.."

He sprang back up, grinning, "Sorry."

"It's not a problem.."

He pushed his buggy, checking it's contents, "Um. Are you getting anything you need, like, right now?"

She was takeen aback by his quick change of subject. Looking in her own buggy, all she had so far was bread and mayo, "I can come back later, I guess. Why?"

He smiled wide, showing her his sharp canines, "Cause I've been dying to ask you out for coffee and I thought I lost my chance when you moved and I have no idea when I'll see you again."

His eyes were wistful, and they looked like a puppy.

"I uh.." the longer she hesitated the more sad he looked, she had spent the last few months down in the dumps, she didn't want to send someone else there, "Sure. I'd love to."

"Yosh!" he grabbed her hand, "There's a place not to far from here, let's go!"

"Sure- Wait!" he started to pull her towards the exit.

"Come on! I don't ever wanna see ya sad again," he came to a stop in front of the coffee shop, "Promise?"

It would be impossible to become joyful and optimistic overnight. She still had a lot of issues to work out. Had to find a job, a car, a new place to live.. but maybe with such a uplifting person in her life, it would be easier. But it would also be more enjoyable as she climbed out of the rut she was in.

"I can't promise anything. But I will try," he was pleased with her answer because he picked her up and spun her.

"Great. Now come on, this place has great stuff!"

* * *

In the months to come, Lucy got a job at the local library thanks to Levy. She got to stock books all day. Being around that kind of atmosphere helped her get new ideas and she kissed goodbye to her writers block.

She paid Cana back for everything by giving her a gift card to the most expensive liquor store in town. She got a voice mail the following night from her, and she found out just how Cana felt about her. It was so awkward.

She was able to get her car working, but then traded it in for something much more reliable. She caught up on her bills and actually got a little ahead.

And a little over a year later, she moved into a new place. And she wasn't alone. It was the one year anniversary of their first coffee date when Natsu asked her to move in with him. His lease was up and he was looking for a new place. And as much as he loved Happy, he wanted more company than just his cat.

They were just bringing in her boxes when he pulled her onto the couch.

"Natsuu! We aren't finished!" she squirmed, trying to get out of his grip.

"Let me hug you!" he held her tighter to his chest, beyond happy with how things turned out.

Life was hard, Lucy knew that. Things happened and you can't change that. But she had her friends there when she needed them. She had Natsu who turned her life around. She still got sad sometimes, she still got upset when she looked at her bank statement. But it would be OK, because at the end of the day all she needed were the people who cared about her. Her friends, Natsu, and even her father who had helped when he saw her struggling.

She snuggled into Natsu's chest, completely content.


	7. Prince? or Prisoner?

After deciding to end Everyday Lives, I hope it's easier to find certain chapters this way. Hope you don't mind.

 **Summary** : Lucy's father has arranged for her to marry a prince for money and land. So she runs away to the basement, only to find men who her father locked away for asking for her hand in marriage. All for not having the right "status". What disturbs her more, is that her best friend who she thought was dead, was also amongst these men.

 _Fairy Tail_ and it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

"LUCY!"

 _ **SLAM**_

Tears cascaded down her face. She slid down to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest.

She didn't care she was ruining her new dress. She didn't care she was ruining her hair and makeup that took over an hour to fix. She simply didn't care.

"Open this door!" large bangs followed the yelling.

Lucy shook her head. She wanted him to go away. She wanted all of them to go away.

The man outside the room finally walked away. Bust she knew he would be back.

Standing on wobbly legs, Lucy made her way to the large balcony doors. The moon was hiding behind dark clouds. It felt like the sky knew how she was feeling, upset and hurt, and matched.

She tried to wipe away her tears, but they kept falling.

It wasn't Bora who made her cry, well it was, but it was another she owed them to.

 _Her father._

 _ ****SIX HOURS EARLIER****_

 _"Father," Lucy started hesitantly, "I understand that tonight is important to you, for our kingdom. But I need to ask you.. May I be permitted to travel? As my 18th birthday has past I think it would benefit me-"_

 _"No."_

 _She was startled by his interruption, "I'm sorry, but may I ask why?"_

 _"You may. Your purpose is here. Your benefit it to strengthen our kingdom with male heirs. All travel would do for you is teach you what you can learn here from your tutors," his tone was rough, unforgiving._

 _"Y-yes, I understand," her voice wavered, "but I still believe the experience-"_

 _"Absolutely not. You may travel when you are married to the correct prince. That is the end of this discussion._

 _ ****PRESENT****_

He left no room for argument. And Lucy found all too quickly just _when_ she would benefit him.

Yanking the pearls out of her hair she let if fall to her lower back. The pearls cracked when they hit the floor. She huffed, sitting on the luxurious couch in front of her balcony.

Tonight's party was supposed to be about making alliances. What she didn't know was that her father had invite every single eligible prince in the country and neighboring ones. He was going to marry her off to the highest bidder so to speak, as soon as possible.

Only a few of the men here were around her age. Most were ten years or more her senior.

Gritting her teeth as she thought of the one her father preferred. Bora of the Prominence kingdom. He was only five years older than her and he had land that her father wanted.

And along with the others, he was a pervert. He had been bold enough to fondle her bottom right in front of her father!

The only one who was decent towards her was Sting. And that was due to him being smitten with a princess from another kingdom, Yukino.

 _"Of course,"_ she thought gloomily, _"the one I wish to marry.. has been dead for two years."_

Quickly, she rid herself of these thoughts. She had shed her share of tears for him. Had finished grieving a long time ago. Nothing would bring him back. Or make the pain in her heart disappear.

But she couldn't forget him.

Letting her broken heart guide her, she dug through her night stand until she found it.

She wrapped the white scaly scarf around her, digging her nose into it. It had lost his scent long ago, so long she couldn't even imagine it anymore.

He had come to visit her after she had fallen off her horse, breaking her ankle. He laughed and made fun of her clumsiness. He massaged her ankle and calf as he told her the newest stories of how he embarrassed his older brother. He stayed for a few days. He left with a promise to return in a months time. He never made it home.

The driver of his carriage arrived an hour after departing. He was bloody and bruised, his carriage and horse. The prince of Alvarez missing.

Two months of searching went by before they officially declared him dead. Zeref's wedding a week later was extremely bittersweet.

Her father was the only one smiling.

Forcing her tears away, Lucy sat on her red covered bed. Pink was her favorite color, but she couldn't bare to look at the happy color any longer.

 _Knock, knock_ , "Princess?"

Groaning, she slowly shuffled her feet to open the door.

"Yes?" she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that is was only Loke.

Her personal butler grinned, "I snuck away some goodies for you, beautiful."

If a member of staff ever flirted with her, they would immediately be punished. But the, surprisingly, happily married Loke was an exception.

Smiling, she let him it, "Thank you, Loke."

He set the tray on her bed and when he stood his stare went directly to her neck.

"Princess.. You shouldn't wear that.. Especially when Lord Jude is to have you-"

"I know," she pulled the white cloth up over her nose, "it's just.. comforting."

He smiled pitifully at her, the staff all knew how much the Prince of Alvarez meant to her.

He placed a warm hand on her shoulder, "I'm here if you need me," he winked at her and left the room.

Lucy was about to taste the food her brought her when she heard him loud and clear, "Lord Jude!"

Lucy tore the scarf off and stuffed it behind her pillows and hastily pulled her hair back up, kicking away what pearls she could.

"Loke," her fathers voice was unamused.

"I just brought the princess a small tray, courtesy of Aquarius."

"I see. You are dismissed."

She sat neatly on the bed and waited. The door slammed, alerting her that his anger was reaching it's boiling point.

"Lucy."

She stood gracefully and curtsied, "Father."

"I just spoke with Prince Bora. He said that you ran away from him. I demand to know your reason."

 _"You demand? What a loving father."_

She stood and looked him right in the eye, "Bora tried to touch me in places his is not allowed. I asked him politely to stop and yet he refused. I ran here to get away from him and his wandering hands.

"Lucy," he glared at her, making her feel like a child again, "Bora is asking for your hand. He is offering a great deal of his land to me for it. If he wished to touch his future bride, you are to let him."

"FA-FATHER! Even if I am to marry him he will not touch me before so! And I never agreed to marry him!" She felt hot tears gather at the corner of her eyes.

"As I said, he has offered his land and a large sum of jewels for you. He is quite taken with you. You will marry this coming spring."

Horror filled Lucy. She was being forced to marry a man who wanted her for her body. For an alliance. For money. For business. For a trophy. Not for love. Not for.. Not for her.

 _"I like Lucy because.. Lucy is Lucy!"_

Her heart was crashing into her stomach. She couldn't do this. She picked up her frilly skirts and bolted.

"Lucy! Don't run away from me young lady!"

Lucy ran. She ran to the staircase, kicking off her heels before she descended the steps two at a time. At the bottom, a few elderly gusts were talking. Old, snotty, rich, greedy men whose company her father coveted.

"Ah! Miss Lucy..!" they were baffled as she ran past them. Unfortunately she had to run through the ballroom to get to her destination. She ran along the wall to avoid her fathers guest, these people were not here for her, she was just a prize to be won. Lucy ran into tables, got the spiked punch all over her dress. Her hair was flying behind, released from it's sloppy confines.

"Princess!"

"Oh goodness, I'm sorry!"

She nearly ran into Virgo and Aries as she finally got out of the ballroom. She made a mental note to apologize later.

She arrived at her destination. The dungeon.

She threw the open the door and shut it behind her. There were only three rooms to choose from. To the right was the guards office, it hadn't been used in years. To the left was the weapons storage room. And straight ahead was the lonely corridor, a place she comes to when she needs to escape for a few hours.

Flinching at the cold stone floor, she ran a ways down the hall before finding the bench she uses every time she ventures down here.

The first time was right after her mother died. She hid down here for a whole day.

Pulling her knees back to her chest, she cried. That's all she ever did these days. The tears were soaked into her skirt, her sobs muffled by the thick fabric.

 _"I can't believe him. All he cares about is land and money. He's never once asked me if I was ready to get married. I wish mom was here.."_

Lucy sat in the dark hallway for what felt like hours. No one came to get her, no one knew where she was. Her father didn't know she knew they even _had_ a dungeon.

 _Achoo._

Lucy's hair flew everywhere, she stood to her feet, tripping over her ruined dress. She stared down the hallway, the one she thought was empty.

 _"Is.. is there someone down here?"_

She took an unsteady step forward. Unsure of what she would find, she had never gone past the bench she used. She heard movement, coughing, snoring, and more sneezing.

She clenched her hands in front of her, her eyes looking for any sign of danger.

 _Achoo!_

The sneeze was louder, right in front of her. It was dark, she had to strain her eyes to see clearly.

"A.. cell?" She knew it was called a dungeon, but she didn't think about what a dungeon was supposed to be used for.

Inside the cell was a man. He was clothed in dirty pants. No shirt or shoes. His skin was covered in dirt and blood. His hair was long and scraggly.

Lifting a hand to cover her face she stepped back, _"What did he do.. to get locked down here?"_

The man was about to look up, but she ran before he saw her. Past that cell were more. Some were empty, most had men like the first. Men of all sizes and ages. Some asleep, some staring off in space. Others saw her or reached for her, some called out to her for help. Some were dead.

Near the end of the corridor, she spun around, close to vomiting due to the smell.

"What have they done.. What did they do.. to deserve this fate.." she sent up a prayer for these men.

Determined to find out, she was about to head back to main part of the castle to confront her father when she hard wheezing.

Faltering, she turned around towards the very end of the hall. Only one torch was lit inside the cell. It was alone, no other cells were near it. Isolated.

The fire her mother had left in her, the need to care for other people allowed her to go and check on the last man.

Wanting to only peak inside as to not startle him, she got close to the bars to look inside. And what she saw sent her whole world crashing down.

"N.. Na-Natsu?" tears sprang freely from her puffy eyes. She blinked again and again, pinching herself to make sure what she was seeing was real.

Standing to her full height, she gripped the bars tightly, her knuckles turning white. He sat with his back against the wall, head slumped forward. His hands were chained above him, it was the only thing keeping him upright. The only thing he was wearing was a torn piece of cloth that was tied around his waist, barely covering anything. She couldn't see his skin, so much dirt and blood covered him. His bare feet looked like they were rubbed raw. His beautiful pink hair was unruly, dirty and now came down below his shoulders.

She cringed as she looked over him. He was covered in so many injuries. Most noticeably were the ones on his hip and neck. Both looked fresh, still oozing blood.

Lucy couldn't even rejoice that he was alive. Not when she could barely tell he was breathing.

Her tears were no longer silent as she slid to her knees. Hugging herself, she rocked back and forth, trying to calm down.

For two years, everyone thought he was dead. They had a funeral just days before his brother got married. Zeref not Mavis could even smile and enjoy their wedding day. Their friends continued to search for months, unable to find a trace of him. To this day, Gray still looks when he has time.

Gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes together, she yanked on her hair. Why was he here, why was he injured, why was he chained to the wall, what did he do wrong?!

 **"AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

She heard movement and shouting, she didn't care. She didn't care if her father found her. She didn't care about anything except-

"Lu.. Lu-cy..?"

Her breath caught in her throat. With what little strength she felt she had left she tilted her gaze back to her long lost frined.

"Natsu," she whispered, her throat still sore from crying and screaming.

"Lu-cy.. you're.. back.."

 _"..back?"_

 _ **Cough**_ "It's.. been a.. while.."

Lucy shook her head, begging him in her head not to talk. But she wanted to hear him. Wanted to see with her own eyes that he was alive.

"You're..never..," _**cough**_ , "..outside.. though."

He stopped and hacked up blood. Lucy brought her hands to her face, she didn't want him to see her cry.

 _ **Cough**_ , "You.. normally come.. inside.." _ **cough**_.

 _"He's been hallucinating.."_ she would too if she was in his situation.

He raised his head, rosy locks falling in his eyes, eyes that were dull and glazed over.

"It doesn't hurt.. as much.. when.." _**cough**_ , "..you're.. with.. me.."

Her whole body was shaking. He spent two years down here, alone, in absolute torturous pain, and his only form of comfort was imagining she was there.

"Why.. are you.. crying..?" _**cough**_ , _**cough**_ , "Who.. hurt.. you..?" _**cough**_ , "Tell.. me.. I'll.. break every.. bone.. in their.. body.." _**cough**_.

She couldn't hold in her sobs. Even broken and bloody and he still wanted to fight to protect her.

"Natsu.." she gripped the bars and laid her head on them, wishing she could break them.

"..Lucy.."

 _"I don't know why he's here, but he didn't deserve this. Whatever he did.. HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"_

"..You.. talked.."

Focusing back on the dark eyes that she loved and missed so much, eyes that were a little less hazy.

 _ **Cough**_ , "You've.. never..," _**cough**_ , "..talked before.."

Using the bars for support, she stood on her wobbly legs, "Natsu.. I'm here. I'm really here."

He stared at her and it felt as if he was looking into her soul. His shoulders rose until they hit the wall. His eyes were no longer dull.

"Lu.. cy..?" tears gathered in his eyes, one eye cried blood.

Smiling though her tears, she reached for him, "Hey, Natsu.."

The wounded prince grit his teeth, gripping the chains attached to his wrists, he used them to bring himself to his feet.

"No! Stop! What are you doing?! You're hurt!" Lucy yelled, wanting to help him but unable to do anything but watch.

Looking at his body you wouldn't think he had any strength left. His muscle were all but gone, his rib cage completely visible. She saw his legs tremble as they held up what little weight he had, they obviously hadn't been used in a very long time.

"Stop, Natsu!"

But when she saw his face, she saw a fire that rivaled the flames of hell. A warmth filled her being that had been missing for two long years.

"Lu.. cy.. who.. hurt.. you..," _**cough**_ , "tell.. me..!"

"No one," she wiped at her still falling tears to no avail. They were tears of both pain and joy, "I'm just so happy to see you.."

His footing faltered and he nearly fell back on his bum, he gripped the chains tighter, causing blood to fall down his arms. His coughing fit returned until he spat out a wad of saliva and blood near the untouched bed in his cell.

He grinned at her, that old signature grin of his that made her heart melt, "It's good to see you too, Lucy."

She gazed at his grin with all the adoration in heart. She still couldn't believe it, he was alive!

His footing faltered a second time, and this time he was unable to catch himself. He slammed down onto the cold stone floor, wincing and starting another coughing fit,

Lucy itched to help him, to do anything for him. The bars between them were the only thing stopping her.

His breathing turned wheezily again, like something was stepping on his lungs.

"Natsu," she waited until his breathing was under control, "what happened?"

Natsu glared at s bare legs. He was still breathing hard, still weak. But his fire was back.

"It's.. not.. important.. Lucy.."

"Of course it is!" _How can he say that?!_ "You've been gone for two years! We all thought you were dead!"

She started to cry again just remembering those days. The driver gave her his scarf, the only thing left of him. She tried to give it to Zeref, but he wouldn't take it. Saying that Natsu would want her to have it.

"Me.. Zeref and Mavis.. Gray.. Juvia.. Erza and Jellal.. Mira.. Laxus, Levy.. Gajeel.. Wendy.. We all thought you were dead.."

Natsu watched her crumble to the floor, feeling more pain than he had in a while.

"Guards.. attacked..," _**cough**_ , "the carriage," _**cough**_ , "your dads.. guards.."

 _"My fathers.. guards?"_

"They.. were dressed..," cough, ".. as.. bandit.. driver.. one of yours..," cough, "didn't recognize.. them..," he took a second to catch his breath. Lucy felt awful for making him talk so much, "..knocked.. me out.. woke.. up.. here.. yer old man.. told me.. I.. was gonna.. stay here.. til.. you were.. married.."

He had to stop to spit up more blood, and as concerned as she was, she could do nothing.

 _"..married?"_

"Me.. and.. all these.. other guys.. are down here..," cough, "cuz.. we.." his face turned red, it was visible even under the layers of dirt.

"Because?"

Swallowing his embarrassment, he kept going, "Cuz we.. asked.. to.. marry.. you.."

Lucy's world stopped. She heard what he said. Knew what it meant. But how could that be true? Her father locked all these men down here because they wanted to marry her? She knew he was cruel, but was it really this bad?

Seeing Natsu's pathetic state was all the proof she needed.

Then it hit her all at once.

"You asked.. to marry.. me?"

Natsu wouldn't look at her, choosing to glare at his feet instead, "..yeah."

A blush erupted onto Lucy's face. She wanted to squeal and dance around in happiness. Natsu wanted to marry her! He wanted to be with her! But..

"That's why you, and everyone else, are locked down here?" he gave her a dejected nod, "Why? I don't understand.."

Squirming around so he could be more comfortable, his small cloth fell off his lap. Steam blowing out of her ears, Lucy squeaked and slapped a hand over her eyes. She heard Natsu sputter and shuffle around.

"You.. can look.." peeking through her fingers, she was relieved to see the cloth was in front of him between his now crossed legs. His face matched hers.

She lowered her hand to her lap as he spoke, "He said.. I.. had nothing.. to.. offer.. you," cough, "cuz.. I'm not.. an.. heir.."

"An heir?" Lucy muttered to herself.

"Since.. I'm only.. second.. in.. line.. and wouldn't," cough, "have my.. own.. kingdom.. I wasn't.. fit.. to marry.. you.."

Clenching her fists, Lucy felt anger rise in her.

 _"How could he. Locking away Natsu because he asked for my hand. Wouldn't a simple 'no' be enough?!"_

"But why would he lock you up? He told you.. no.. didn't he?"

"He.. yeah.. said no..," cough, "but.. he said.. you.. wouldn't.. marry.. unless.. you.. had.. no other.. choice.."

 _GASP!_ Lucy now understood her fathers intentions, and it infuriated her.

"Miss Lucy!"

"No!" Lucy stood to her feet. Capricorn! How did he find her?!

"Go.. that.. way.."

"Huh?" Natsu was pointing to the hallway across from his cell, she hadn't noticed it before.

"It goes.. to.. the kitchen.."

He had gone back to the position he was in when she found him.

Torn, she gripped the bars, "I'll come back. I promise Natsu!

She saw him smile before she ran up the stairs.

* * *

Thankfully she made it to her room without running into anyone. She slid into her adjoining bathroom, tearing off her now completely ruined dress she started the tub to soak her aching feet.

Flinching at the temperature, Lucy sat on the side of the tub. As the warm water soothed her sore feet, she went over everything she learned.

 _"I still can't believe it. Just because he didn't want me to marry Natsu or someone else because they weren't 'qualified' to be my husband, he locked them away. Just because they weren't rich or didn't have something father wanted. That didn't give him the right to take away their freedom!"_

"What do you think you're doing?"

The angry voice startled Lucy back to reality.

"A-Aquarius!"

The beautiful woman stood in the doorway leading to her bathroom, arms crossed and ever present scowl adorning her face.

"Why are you sitting here in your under clothes? You have been missing for hours. Your father is furious," she growled out.

Shaking, Lucy hugged her middle. Of course he was mad, he was always mad.

"Well, brat?"

Lucy looked into the eyes of the woman who raised her after her mother died. She may be mean, but she could at least trust Aquarius.

Fresh tears trailed down her red, puffy, tear stained cheeks. The older woman sighed, sitting next to Lucy and showing what little compassion she had. Silently asking her to explain what was wrong.

Lucy told her everything. Starting with the conversation with her father before the party to the moment she had to leave him in that dirty cell.

Aquarius said nothing, merely waiting for Lucy to stop crying, "I knew something was fishy. Every time someone asked him for permission, he would act funny and secretive for days."

Lucy was honestly surprised so many men actually wanted to marry her.

"But the Prince of Alvarez too? Hmph. I'm shocked he didn't just kill him."

"He would, wouldn't he?" Lucy had no doubt her father would kill to make sure he stayed rich.

 _Knock, knock,_ "Excuse me, Miss Lucy? Miss Aquarius?"

Lucy jumped, "Ca-Capricorn?"

"Tch. Put your robe on. Let's see what he wants."

Aquarius was a very fast-paced woman, even more so when she was agitated, which happened more so when around Lucy. She opened the door before Lucy had fastened her robe securely.

"What is it?"

"May I speak to Miss Lucy?" he asked in his deeply accented voice.

"She told me you were the one who found her in the dungeon. Are you going to take her tro Lord Jude?" Aquarius may have been smaller than him, but her glare kept him from barging in.

"No. I would merely like to speak to her. You may stay, if that is what you wish."

Glaring at Lucy, Aquarius waited for a response.

"Let him in," she sat on the edge of her bed. Highly embarrassed to be sitting in front of the older butler while only wearing under clothes and a robe.

"Miss Lucy," he bowed in front of her once the door was closed behind him, "Please forgive me for startling you. I simply wished to see if you were unharmed."

"I was fine," she raised a brow at him, "I was just trying to register that my father was keeping men, keeping Natsu, prisoner for asking to marry me."

"I deeply apologize. I have known about the prisoners for a few months now. Lord Jude threatened my job and my life if I were to tell you," he stood straight, hands behind his back, "but you have found it all your own. I see no reason to keep you in the dark."

"And just how did you find out?" Aquarius spat, standing next to Lucy so she could glare at him.

"I was seeking Lord Jude's opinion on the menu for a ball, similar to tonight's, back in the summer. I was told he had gone to the dungeon via the kitchen," he cleared his throat, "it was then that I found Prince Natsu."

"Hmph."

"Why is Natsu so injured?" Lucy asked in a small voice.

"Unfortunately Miss Lucy, your father sends a few of his personal guards down to make sure that they all know that he controls their lives. In Natsu's case, Lord Jude likes for him to stay unconscious more often than not."

"What?!" Lucy sprang to her feet, "Why is Natsu any different? He already took away his freedom! There is no need to cause him harm!"

Scoffing, Aquarius said, "Huh. He wants to make positive that he can't get free no matter what. Does he also drug him?"

Solemnly, Capricorn nodded.

"What..," Lucy slumped onto the plush comforter, defeated, "What am I supposed to do? I have to help him.. all of them."

"The high king."

Lucy raised her head, confused, "Who?"

"You father is a member of the Kingdom Peace Alliance. The alliance allows all those in its oath to remain loyal to one another, causing less friction between them. The high king is the king who watches them and punishes them if they disobey the rules. He inspects the kingdoms he suspects of fowl behavior," Capricorn explained.

Finally, a lead! "Who is it? How can I contact this 'high king'? What do I need to say?"

Aquarius snorted, "He's downstairs brat. Tell him you don't trust your father. That's all he'll need."

"Who is it?!" she nearly pulled her hair out the longer she waited.

Capricorn smiled, "King Dragneel of Alvarez."

* * *

After spending as less time as she could on redressing, Lucy all but ran to the ballroom. She reentered the room, thankfully without anyone noticing, as if she never left. She smiled and walked quickly away from the ones who tried to speak to her.

"Oh Lucy! There you are!"

Spinning on her heel, Lucy's smile was the biggest it had been in years, "Mavis!"

The older, yet smaller, blonde hugged the princess.

"It's sooo good to see you! It's been far too long since we've last chat," Mavis released Lucy from her hold, still holding her hands.

"It truly has! How have you been? Plans for children any time soon?" Lucy winked at her giggling.

"Oh dear!" Mavis raised a hand to hide her blush, "Not at the moment I'm afraid. Perhaps in the coming year!"

"What about the next year?"

"ZEREF!" Lucy screamed, making the shy king jolt.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lucy busied herself apologizing to her friends older brother, who smiled at her.

Laughing, he said, "You're quite alright. It's good to see you. How are you fairing?"

Lucy could tell that he was asking about her fathers agenda tonight.

"Well to be honest," she changed her tone, alerting the others to pay closer attention, "I don't know if I _trust_ my father."

Zeref's eyes widened for a moment. He knew what she meant.

"Is everything alright?" Mavis asked, scooting closer to Zeref's side. She noticed as well.

Lucy wanted to lie and just say she had a bad feeling. But as she looked into Zeref's eyes, and knowing that a matching pair was hurting because of her father, she couldn't, "No."

Mavis looked worried and glanced up at her husbands face. He was looking at the floor and nodded to himself before smiling at the blondes, putting his arm around Mavis, "Don't worry then. I will alert my council and return here next week to inspect. Do you know a day that would be best-"

"LUCY! There you are! I've been searching for you all night!"

Bora appeared out of no where and wrapped his arms around the princess. Lucy cringed at the feeling of his fingers digging into her.

"King Zeref! Lady Mavis! What a surprise!" Bora held out a hand for Zeref to take, but the high king merely asked Lucy with his eyes if _this_ was part of the problem.

Slipping out of Bora's slimy grip, Lucy stood next to Mavis, discretely nodding to Zeref.

"A surprise?" Mavis gripped Lucy's arm and tugged her backwards, confusing the younger royal, "What is so surprising about my appearance? Jude and I have an alliance of peace after all. And Princess Lucy is a _dear friend_ of mine. It would be more surprising if I were not to attend For you, however, it is a shock to see you. You are not a part of an alliance with any kingdom, "he stepped closer to Bora, "unless you and Jude have your own alliance?"

Shaking in his boots, Bora squeaked out, "O-Of course not! L-lord Jude and I are friends! Why this coming week we plan to ride the land, he wishes to show me the landmarks!"

Lucy and Mavis glanced at one another at that, a day that Jude would be out of the castle.

"Oh?" Zeref inquired, "On what occasion?"

Grinning a sick and pleased grin, he blabbed, "Why for preparing me to rule this kingdom after Lucy and I wed."

Mavis gasped silently and gripped Lucy's hand harder. She whispered, "I didn't know it was already decided."

"Unwillingly," Lucy softly told her, causing the shorter blonde to puff out her cheeks in anger.

"I see," Zeref looked back at her with pity and sadness in his eyes, "On which day? Perhaps I can join you and get to know the boy who is to wed my Lucy."

Blushing prettily, Lucy looked to the floor. Zeref had treated her like a little sister for as long as she could remember. Mavis giggled at Bora's face when he was called a boy.

"Why the third day. I will be staying here til the next day of rest."

Lucy groaned.

"Ah, unfortunately I have business that day."

Thinking he was being discreet, Bora's face lit up in delight, "How tragic. Now come Lucy!"

Bora grabbed her hand and tugged, nearly sending her in the floor, "Wait a minute!"

"We must stand together to allow our quests to congratulate us on our union!"

"There is no union!" Lucy struggled to get away from him, "Hold on!" she looked over her shoulder, desperate to get back to Mavis and Zeref.

The dark haired king raised a hand to her, which was an unclear message to Lucy. But Mavis was smiling, and that put her at ease. Bora pulled her to the right, she could no longer see the couple. His grip turned painful, reminding her how all this began.

He was dragging her towards her father. Doing as Aquarius told her, she smiled and pretended to be happy. She would have to pretend until Zeref could go into that dungeon.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to join us? We could have your horse saddled in no time," Bora asked her Wednesday morning.

"I would only slow you down. It's been a few years since I've gone on a ride," the last time being the event that broke her ankle, when Natsu went missing.

"We will return at dinner. Behave yourself," her father ushered Bora out the door, talking about politics and business deals as if he was the heir to the Heartfilia Kingdom and not her.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy sprinted to her room to put on a more comfortable dress. A knee length green dress with long sleeves. Perfect for the cooler weather. She was slipping on her matching flats when there was a knock on her door.

"Princess, Lord Zeref and Lady Mavis are waiting for you in the entry way," Virgo told her behind the closed door. Lucy smiled to the maid as she came out of her room, "Thank you, Virgo."

She raced down the staircase to meet them. It was so much easier to run without the confining dresses her father forces her to wear.

"Good morning, Zeref! Mavis!" Lucy skipped to the pair. Mavis was wearing a cotton pink dress and white sandals, showing off the figure she actually had. Zeref was in comfortable black slacks and a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, "I'm so glad you're here, and at a good time as well. Father just left."

"Excellent," Zeref held out a piece of paper to her, "Place this on your fathers desk later. A surprise inspection notice."

"Okay," she glanced over it before asking, "Have you eaten? Or are you ready to start?"

"We've eaten, but thank you," Mavis beamed, "We had an early session this morning and we got pretty hungry."

Zeref tripped over the carpet, blushing and sputtering he span around to his wife, "Ma-Mavis!"

"Oh..," Lucy blushed as well.

Cheeks still red, Zeref walked away to go up the stairs, "Let's begin."

An inspection consisted of the high king and one other to go throughout the castle to find anything out of the ordinary. Normally secret rooms or documents that weren't known to the KPA (Kingdom Peace Alliance).

"Apologies," Zeref turned to Lucy sheepishly, "but your room had to be looked over as well."

"That's fine, I have nothing to hide."

"I'll be inspecting her clothes drawers."

Confused, Zeref raised a brow at his pouting wife, "Is something wrong?"

"I don't want you looking at clothes designed for a larger bust," Mavis pointed to Lucy's rather large chest.

"I wouldn't dare notice the difference, Lucy is a sister to me," he sighed, "You know.. that I.. love yours.."

Lucy laughed at the poor embarrassed king, _"Must be a normal topic between them."_

The three went into the large pink room. Lucy stood back and watched them. Mavis moving quickly about the room, enjoying her task. But Zeref wasn't moving.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, following his line of sight to her pillows, or rather what was on them.

"You still have this," he picked up the scarf and held it tenderly in his hands.

Biting her lip, Lucy nodded. She had been unable to go back to the dungeon with Bora follwing her around. So to make up for it she slept with his scarf every night. She had forgotten to put it away.

"Oh, Zeref.." Mavis wrapped her arms around his waist, offering him some comfort.

"I'm fine," his voice stated otherwise. He shook his head to snap out of it. Holding Mavis' hand he moved towards Lucy and handed her the scarf.

"You can keep it, it's rightfully yours.."

"Maybe," he smiled sadly, "but as I've said before, he would want you to keep it. He.. cared so much about you."

Lucy took the scarf from him. She so desperately wanted to tell him, but Capricorn told her that Zeref had to find him and see him with his own eyes first.

"Now," he smiled to Mavis, who tried to smile back, "I think we're finished here. You said you wanted us to check the dungeon?"

Smiling a real smile, Lucy hugged Natsu's beloved scarf, "Yes."

* * *

Opening the large familiar doors, Lucy led Zeref and Mavis to the dungeon.

Mavis coughed upon entering. The stench stronger than before. Zeref grimaced, checking the office that was empty and the rarely used storage room.

Mavis coughed upon entering. The stench stronger than before. Zeref grimaced, checking the office that was empty and the rarely used storage room. Mavis covered her nose and mouth, still coughing. Lucy had wrapped the scarf around her neck, she raised it above her mouth to block as much of the smell as she could.

"Nothing here," he glanced down the long corridor, "What's down there?"

Carefully, Lucy told him, "I heard something down there when I last came here."

"Alright," Walking hand in hand with Mavis he led them down the hall.

When they passed Lucy's bench, she began to grow antsy. Zeref was taking everything in and walking slow to do so. Mavis was trying not to vomit. Lucy wanted to rush them.

Lucy nearly ran into them when Zeref came to a halt. Mavis saw what he did, and they both looked appalled. Glancing to the side, Lucy saw it too. The first cell.

"What? A prisoner?" Mavis gaped.

Zeref approached the bars, "Pardon?"

Then man inside fell to his knees, quivering.

"Why are you here?"

The man shook terribly while speaking, "Lord Jude put me here.." Lucy wondered why he could speak much better than Natsu could, but then again, he was treated much worse according to the butler.

"For what reason?!" Zeref was known to be a kind king, but once crossed he could rival the devil. Unknown to Lucy, the KPA stated that no kingdom will house prisoners unless the high king himself declares it. And in this case, he did not.

The man gazed fondly at Lucy, she tried to smile back, but she didn't know who he was, "I asked to marry the princess here. Lord Jude forbade it. Locked me here to keep me quiet and out of the way."

"How horrible.." Mavis hugged Lucy.

"How long have you been here? Are there others?"

"If I kept count right, about 3 months," explaining his OK appearance and voice, "bunch of others. Some been here for years."

"Lucy only turned of age this past summer," Mavis explained, "that would mean that Jude has been searching for a groom for some time."

"He wanted to make sure he could marry her off as soon as her 18th birthday came. And he wanted to pick someone with appropriate requirements," Zeref calmly added.

Lucy blinked, surprised they figured it out so quick.

"Yes, your majesty. I only offered a few acres of land. He was not pleased with me," the mad locked up said, Zeref placed a hand on his shoulder through the bars.

"I will free you. You have my word."

The man bowed and thanked him. Waving to Mavis and Lucy, Zeref left the cell.

"Jude.. What a despicable man.." Zeref growled, "this will not go unpunished."

They passed several other cells, sometimes talking to the men inside.

"Zeref? May I ask you something?"

"Certainty," he was kneeled before a cell that held a man who hadn't survived.

"How come I've never heard of this alliance before? Or that you were called the high king?"

Chuckling, he answered her, "When I became king I gained the title from my late father. You have been present at meetings, Lucy. Our peace talks?" he smiled fondly at the memories, "You and Natsu would entertain yourselves during the meeting. Often disrupting it."

She flushed, _"That's what those boring meetings were?!"_

"I.." she squeaked embarrassingly, "I guess I never paid much attention."

Mavis giggled from behind her, "I never do either so don't feel bad!"

Zeref shook his head as the girls laughed. They had reached the end of the cells.

"Well, I definitely have enough evidence to call him to court," Zeref smiled at Lucy, "I'm sorry about this, but thank you, Lucy."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. He deserves what he gets, but," she gulped, "there is one more cell, down at the end."

"Oh?" He turned back around and saw the single torch.

"An isolated cell?" Mavis asked aloud, following Zeref to it.

Lucy took a few steps after them, then stopped. She wanted to see if he was OK. But Zeref deserve to have a moment to see his brother alone for the first time in two years.

Coming to an abrupt halt, Zeref's jaw fell slack. His hands twitched and he reached inside the cell. Mavis cried out when she looked inside.

"Natsu..," Zeref called, crying, "Natsu! NATSU!"

His reaction was honestly better than Lucy's. She sat and cried, Zeref looked ready to breathe fire.

"He's..," Mavis stood very still, but shaking, "alive.."

"Natsu! Look at me!" Lucy wrapped her arms around Mavis and looked beyond Zeref. Natsu looked no different than before. The cloth around his waist had been put back in place, his injuries had stopped bleeding.

Natsu moved his head slowly side to side. Lucy saw hip quiver. He raised his head, wincing and squinting his eyes as he did. There was blood in his hair and streaming down his face.

His eyes were slightly hazy, but cleared when he caught sight of his brother, "Zer.. ef..?"

Smiling through his sobs, Zeref still reached for him, "Natsu. You're alive."

Natsu turned his head a little, "Ma.. vis?"

"Hi, Natsu," she whispered.

His gaze finally landed on Lucy, and she nearly died when she watched the strongest person she knew start crying.

"Lu.. cy.. you.. came.. back.."

"I promised you I would," she whispered back. Zeref turned to her in question.

"The night of the ball, I ran down her to hide from father. I found him like this, I had no idea.."

He nodded, "You've been down here since.. you last visited Lucy?"

Natsu nodded, tears still leaving his eyes.

"My brother," he gripped the bars, venom practically poring out of him, "has been in a cell.. for two years?!"

Mavis stepped away, pulling Lucy with her,

Yanking hard on the bars, he yelled, "MY BROTHER WAS _BURIED_ BEFORE MY VERY EYES AND HE'S BEEN ALIVE THIS WHOLE _**TIME?!**_ "

The bars whined, actually spreading apart.

Lucy gaped, she had no idea he was that strong!

"Good job, hun!" Mavis cheered.

Looking at the smaller woman up and down, Lucy thought about what she heard this morning, "How.. are you not broken yet?"

Her skin flushed, "Oh.. well.. he had great control.. and he's pretty gentle. Especially when-" Lucy slapped a hand over her mouth.

"That's enough! I don't need to know!"

"Girls.." they turned to Zeref, he had gotten the bars wide enough for someone to get through.

"Excellent!" Mavis cried, embracing him.

"I didn't know you were this strong.."

He chuckled, "Who do you think taught Natsu?"

She blanched. Was she really that oblivious? She felt a hand on her back, pushing her towards the cell.

"Go," Mavis gently pushed her.

"No, Zeref should-" but he stopped her.

"Go."

She gripped the scarf tightly as she squeezed through the bars, almost getting stuck. Back in the old days, Natsu would have told her that it was because she gained weight.

But the Natsu in front of her was looking at her with longing in his eyes so intensely, tugging on his chains, desperate to be free.

Kneeling in front of him, she felt tears gather in her eyes as she put her hands on his cheeks. He felt so gritty, covered in filth, but he was warm. Running a hand through his hair she saw his eyes clearly, they were watching her with so much emotion. He wasn't good with words, his actions said what he couldn't. He pulled on his chains, trying to get closer.

With a sob, she threw her arms around him. Burying her face into his neck, her body trembling as she hugged him for dear life. He put his nose in her hair, breathing her in.

 _"I will never let you go again, I swear,"_ Lucy promised.

"Miss Lucy," not releasing him, Lucy glanced over her shoulder to see Capricorn unlocking the cell door.

He walked inside with Zeref and Mavis on his heels, "Prince Natsu, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for keeping your presence a secret."

Natsu shook his head, "I.. heard him.."

"Thank you," he bowed and pulled out the key to unlock the chains.

As soon as he was free, his weak arms brought Lucy closer to his chest.

Zeref kneeled beside them and placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder, "Natsu.."

Reluctantly releasing Lucy, Natsu went into his brothers awaiting arms. Standing up and stepping back, Lucy let them have a moment.

"I have released the other prisoners and sent them upstairs to be treated, " Capricorn explained to her, "As you requested Sire, I sent for you guards this morning. They should arrive shortly."

"Thank you," Zeref mumbled into his little brothers neck.

"Miss Lucy," he handed her a large blanket.

"Thank you, Capricorn," she hugged then man who was more of a father to her than the king, "Thank you so much."

"Anything for you, Miss Lucy."

Lucy opened her eyes and saw Mavis was now hugging the pinkette. Zeref rubbed his eyes as he stood in front of Lucy, she released Capricorn before Zeref embraced her, "I don't know how to thank you."

She awkwardly hugged him back, "You don't need to. He means as much to me as he does to you. Just give him, all of them, justice."

"Don't worry," he let her go, she could see the red, malicious tint in his eyes, "I intend to."

Natsu brought their attention back to him as he began to hack up blood. Mavis patted his back to help. Lucy hurriedly opened the blanket and wrapped it around him.

"Capricorn, take him upstairs. He is far too weak to walk," Zeref commanded.

"Yes, Sire," with no effort he lifted Natu into his arms, "The staircase here leads to the kitchen."

Zeref nodded and let the tall butler lead the way. Mavis ran after him, wanting to go help the other prisoners, she may be a queen, but she had some skills.

"You asked for your guards to come here?" Lucy asked as they ascended the stairs.

"I did. You frightened me at the ball. I thought you were in danger. I wanted to to be prepared just in case," he climbed the stairs two at a time, "I'm glad I did. The moment your father returns he will be arrested. He has committed a serious crime against the KPA and against me personally."

Lucy should be saddened and angered that her father was going to be imprisoned. But she had long ago lost respect for her father. All that mattered now was getting Natsu back to normal.

* * *

Several hours later, Jude and Bora stepped through the doors not suspecting a thing.

"A child right away is what I'm expecting of you. I hope you are up for the challenge," Jude told his 'future son-in-law' as they made their way to his office.

Bora grinned, "It'll be my pleasure. No worries."

"Good. I want her to bare as many male heirs as possible. I don't want to go through this hell again," he swung open the door to his office, shocked at what he found.

"Hello, Jude," Zeref sat behind his desk completely as ease.

"High king!" Jude bowed, dragging Bora's head down too, "I did not know you were visiting me today. If I had known I would have prepared a feast."

"No need," Zeref held up the inspection form," I decided to hold a surprise inspection today."

Bora scoffed at the confidence Zeref exuded. Jude gulped in trepidation.

"A surprise inspection? I thought you hardly do those," Jude came up to his desk to scan the papers there, "I'm sorry I arrived so late. Perhaps you should stay the night and we can start in the morning."

"I have already finished my inspection."

Dread came over Jude at the tone the high king used. It was like death was calling.

"You.. You have?"

Behind them, Bora ignored the conversation, picking at the dirt under his nails.

"Yes," standing, Zeref circled the desk, "And do you know what I have found, Jude?"

Jude didn't answer, he stared out the window behind the desk as Zeref approached him.

"I found 25 men in the dungeon. 25 men that have been declared dead over the last four years. Some of them dead."

Bora stared at Jude in fear, he knew. But would Jude call him on it?

"And not only that," Zeref raised the necklace he always wore up so Jude could see the picture of a 5-year-old Natsu, "I found my little brother, beaten to death, amungst these men."

Jude glared at the picture.

"You knew as well?" Zeref turned his glare to Lucy's betrothed.

"I.. I.. I.."

"Take them both away," Zeref's guards came from the hall and grabbed Jude and Bora before they could escape, "Take them to Dreyar castle. We will hold court there."

"Yes, sir," the men dragged the king and prince away kicking and screaming.

Far away from the men, Lucy sat on the floor next to her bed, holding Natsu's hand.

He had been cleaned and bandaged. There was no need for a shirt, his whole body covered in bandages, so they only clothes him in linen shorts. But Lucy had put his scarf around his neck loosely. Hoping the familiar smell and feel would lure him into a peaceful sleep.

She rubbed her fingers lightly over his wrist, they were so chapped. The skin was rubbed raw. Mavis said it would take months to heal, maybe a year or longer.

"Lucy?" Mavis called into the room.

"Yes?" Lucy had refused to leave Natsu's side once he was placed in her bed. Before the small blonde appeared, a blue streak came into the room.

"Happy?!" the cat crawled onto Lucy's lap.

"The nurse said he got into the carriage himself," Zeref had sent for his own infirmary staff the moment he got upstairs, "Thought he would be happy to see his master."

Lucy looked in her lap and saw what she thought was shock on the cats face as he gazed onto the bed. He slowly walked onto Natsu's chest and pawed his face. The soft fur tickled him and his lip moved. Happy curled into Natsu's chest, crying. Lucy wanted to cry too, seeing that his cat had recognized him and had missed him almost as much as they had.

Mavis wiped away a stray tear, "We'll have to cut his hair when he can sit up on his own. I don't think he'll like his new look."

"You're right," Lucy scratched Happy behind the ear and held onto Natsu's hand tightly, "he still looks handsome though."

"Very true."

The girls watched the rise and fall of his chest, mesmerized.

"How are the others?" Lucy inquired.

"Good. Most are just malnourished. Zeref has been writing letters to their families and all the kingdoms in the alliance. He's going to hold court in two weeks. Most of them should be OK to travel by that point."

Lucy nodded, expecting that.

"Natsu though, may be in bed for a while."

"I know," Lucy stated. Mavis sat on the end of the bed near Natsu's feet.

"How is he?" Zeref asked before he had opened the door all the way.

"Asleep, but OK," Mavis told him, "They say he's extremely dehydrated and has lost too much blood. He'll need rest, and lots of it."

Sighing in relief, Zeref braced his hands on the bed, "His injuries?"

"Nothing bad," Lucy answered, moving the hair out of his eyes, "There were deep enough to bleed, but not enough to cause lingering damage. He'll scar."

"Of course," Zeref exhaled loudly, "Your father and Bora have been taken to Dreyar castle."

Lucy stared at him in awe, "Already?"

"There were letters in your fathers office explaining the details of the prisoners. All of the were to Bora, some returning letters," Mavis rubbed her tired eyes.

"You should sleep dear," Zeref took her hand.

"No, I want to be here when he wakes up," she whined.

"I can take her to a spare room for you," Lucy went to stand but Natsu's grip on her hand tightened.

Zeref smiled down at their joined hands, "I think you are the more welcomed guest here, Lucy."

With promise to return later, Zeref picked up his wife and left the room.

Watching his peaceful face, Lucy reflected over how much she missed him, "You have a lot to catch up once you're well. Gray and Juvia are engaged. It happened about a year ago. You can just imagine how happy she was. They're getting married this winter. Gray will be delighted that you'll be there, not that he'll tell you that. Erza and Jellal were married not long before you.. well you know. I found out a few weeks ago that she's expecting! Jellal is already a nervous wreck.

"Gajeel finally decided to court Levy. About nine months ago. He's not ready to propose yet, but soon. Mira and Laxus are married now. You should see them, they're so adorable together. Wendy has begun to take medical lessons. She wants to be a healer.

"Mavis and Zeref got married.. it was the most.. depressing wedding. You were looking forward to it weren't you? You always loved to embarrass your brother. Mavis has taken than from you. She has no shame when it comes to telling someone about their lives in the bedroom. She'll probably tell you all Zeref's little secrets, just so you can be in on it. But don't tell me, I don't want to know!"

His head had turned on the pillow so he was facing her, his mouth slightly open, "I missed you, you know?"

 _Mreow,_ Happy looked up are her with his big eyes, "We all did."

"Missed.. you too.."

Lucy shifted her gaze to his face and saw that his eyes were open.

"Natsu..," she squeezed his hand in both of hers, "How do you feel?"

"Better.."

She smiled, she should have known. The pressure on her hands increased.

 _Mreow,_ "Happy?!" He raised his left hand to pet his precious buddy. Happy rubbed against his hand and face.

"He was a stowaway," she giggled, "Zeref's nurse said he got in the carriage on his own."

"Good job.. little.. buddy.." _Mreow!_

" _They never change_."

He started to cough again, thankfully no blood. Happy leapt to the end of the bed as Lucy helped him sit up, propping the pillows behind him.

"Here," she held a cup of cold water to his lips, and even though he would normally be angry that he couldn't do it himself, Natsu let her pour the refreshing liquid down his throat.

"Thanks."

This time Lucy sat next to him on the bed, holding his hand again. Happy came back and laid down between them.

Natsu relaxed on the plush pillows, watching her. It made Lucy self conscious, she hadn't looked in a mirror all day. Her eyes were probably puffy and hair in a mess. But Natsu looked at her like she an angel.

"I really.. missed you."

His voice sounded just a tinsey bit stronger, or that's what Lucy wanted to believe, "I really missed you too, Natsu."

"He said.. that he had.. found.. you a husband.."

Shaking her head no, Lucy pushed her hair behind her ear, "He found someone he wanted me to marry, for money. But not a husband."

He looked down to their interlaced hands, "Good."

She huffed, she wanted to ask about him wanting to marry her. But she knew he needed to heal before they had such a conversation.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?" he grinned his grin at her.

"I love you."

Gasping, Lucy blushed. He had said that so many times to her before. She never thought he meant it.. the way he did.

Happy tears fell from her eyes, "I love you, too."

 _ ****ONE MONTH LATER****_

 _Dear Mom,_

 _I'm sorry it's been a while. So much has happened lately. It turns out that Nastu was alive after all. Father was keeping him and twenty-four other men prisoner in our dungeon. All because they wanted to marry me. All the men are fine. Zeref invited their families to court a few weeks ago and surprised the council when he brought them in._

 _Natsu has a much longer recovery, he's just able to talk normally now. They're trying to get his muscle strength back, he can barely walk without help. Father never liked Natsu. He wanted Natsu to be alive until the day I was married. Father was going to gloat in front of Natsu about it, then kill him. Thankfully, he is now behind bars in a government prison. The man he wanted me to marry is there with him. His sentence is much shorter though. But they'll both be there for a while._

 _One of the first things Natsu told me was that he loved me. I know he asked father to marry me. He told me he had asked the night before he went home. Father rejected the idea before Natsu could finish. Which is odd, father always wanted a closer alliance with Zeref, but refused Natsu. Natsu wasn't the rightful heir to the Dragneel line, so he wasn't an option._

 _I'm hoping once Natsu is better he'-_

"Lucy!" Natsu cried from the balcony.

Lucy bolted up to see what he needed. They were now in the Dragneel castle. The Heartfilia castle was being emptied by the council of KPA. All the staff were being re-positioned, Zeref let the ones close to Lucy stay with her as she stayed at his home. Once the castle was empty of everything, Lucy could move back and be crowned. But right now she was happy to stay with Nastu as he healed.

"Natsu what's- Natsu!" He was leaning up against the balcony wall, "You're not supposed to stand unless someone is with you!"

"You were in the next room," he shrugged.

"You could have been hurt," she breathed, eyeing the scar on his neck.

"Nahh, come here! Look!" he pointed to the night sky.

Lucy went to stand next to him, but he pulled her against him so her back was pressed to his chest. He pointed upwards, "Look, Lucy. Ain't that pretty."

Lucy smiled, ever since he could get out of bed he wanted to look at the sky. The stars fascinated him in a way they didn't before. Being locked underground for two years would do that, she guessed.

"It's beautiful, Natsu," she shivered, "but it's getting cold out here, you need to come inside. Gray and Juvia will be here tomorrow to see you and personally invite you to their wedding. You need to rest."

He groaned, "All I've done is rest. I want to go on an adventure!"

"You can go on as many adventures as you want once you're at 100 percent, now come on," she held his arm as he limped inside. One of the bones in his leg had been cracked, so he was wearing a brace for the time being.

"Will you be with me?"

Sitting him on his bed, she said, "I'll go wherever you want, now rest."

"Lucy."

Looking into his determined eyes, she faltered, "Yes, Natsu?"

"Will you go on an adventure with me?"

She tilted her head, "I said I would go anywhere with you."

"No," he pursed his lips, "a specific adventure."

She sat down next to him, placing a hand on his thigh, "What adventure?"

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself on the bed before he stood.

"Hold on!" he held a hand out to stop her, he needed to do this.

Moving to be directly in front of her, he uneasily got down on one knee.

Lifting her hands to her face, she watched him grimace on the floor.

"Lucy, over two years ago I asked that bastard if I could marry you. He didn't let me finish, just said no. Said the only thing I could offer you was second rate stuff, but he was wrong."

He put his hands on either side of Lucy, glimpsing into her eyes with his own hopeful ones, "I can offer you happiness. A life I know you want, cuz I want those things too. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my days waking up to you, because you're worth all the hell I went through."

Lucy had tears in her eyes but refused to let them fall, she had cried enough tears. He reached into his linen pants pocket, the only things he could wear that weren't confining , and pulled out a little box.

"Natsu.."

He opened the box and showed her the modest diamond ring, " _Lucy doesn't need money, fancy clothes or jewelry to make her happy. Lucy needs someone to accept her the way she is to make her happy_ , that's what I told your old man before I stormed out of his office that night," he held the ring out to her and held her left hand in his, "so, Lucy Heartfilia, since you own my heart, can I have yours instead?"

Lucy body shook with laughter, making Natsu's cheeks turned pink, "Where did you learn that?"

"Loke. He said it worked on Aries.. and they're married.." he grumbled.

Lucy's laughs died down, and Natsu tried again, "You are the beautiful woman I want to spend the rest of eternity with, will you please be my bride?"

Stunned by the way his eyes smoldered with his love for her, she nodded.

He shakily slipped the ring on her finger, and kissed it as if to brand it.

"OK, now that I have happily agreed to marry you, get off the floor," she shyly pulled him up and pushed him onto the bed, "Lay back to rest your knees."

He did as she said, but he pulled her down with him. She landed on his hard chest. It didn't take long to fill him out with how much he ate, even though it made him sick.

"I love you."

She got comfortable on his chest before she replied, "I love you too."

Natsu placed a hand on the back of her head and pulled in for a kiss.

His lips were warm, slightly chapped, and inexperienced. But it made Lucy's heart flutter as they moved over hers.

"Hope I'm not interrupting?"

Natsu clammed up and Lucy tore her lips away from him. They looked to the door and saw Zeref standing there with a grin.

"Yes?" Natsu ground out.

"Sorry, I just wanted to tell you dinner will be ready in a half hour," he inspected them closely from where he stood, "Congratulations."

Lucy raised her hand to see better, the ring was simple and modest, but it was breathtaking, "Thank you."

"Yeah. Thanks. Now go hump Mavis."

"Natsu!" she berated, she couldn't smack him just yet. But one day she'd be able to, then she'd get him good.

Zeref's face was as red as Natsu's childhood stuffed dragon. He mumbled incoherently before shuffling out the door.

Natsu laughed, "Man, I missed doing that."

Even though he was embarrassed, she knew Zeref missed him doing it.

She pecked him on the nose before snuggling into his chest.

"I love you, Lucy."

She giggled, "I know. I can't even tell you how many times you've told me."

"Yeah, well, I always said that if I got free I would tell you everyday so I wouldn't die without you knowing. I was scared that was gonna happen."

Gripping his shirt she leaned up to look him in the eye, "You don't have to worry about that anymore. You're right here. And I'm not going anywhere."

His grin appeared, "I know."

His kiss was still a little desperate. Like he was afraid it was all just a dream. She would gladly remind him everyday for the rest of their lives that she was no dream. And he would remind her everyday that love conquers all. Because whether he was a prince or a prisoner, he would love her, because she was Lucy.


End file.
